Now You See Me, Now You Don't
by WonderfulWondyWorld
Summary: Can a foreigner still be a foreigner if they're not an official 'Outsider? Enigmatic Emma Nightshade has entered Wonderland at the worst time possible: the Faceless have finally figured out how to rebel against the powerful Roleholders. With Wonderland at war against itself, Emma's rates of survival are low. But the worst secret may be the one within her. (Full summary inside)
1. Prologue

**Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock...**

 _What's that sound?_

 **Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock...**

 _... I don't understand... What's happening?_

 **Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock...**

 _What do you mean? Speak a little louder, please! I can't hear you! What? What are you saying?_

 **Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock...**

 _It's so dark... I'm scared...! Where is everyone? What happened? Last I remembered, the mansion was burning... Why? Am I alive? Did I survive?_

 **Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock...**

 _Hey, did you know?_

 _Every game has rules..._

 _Rules you have to follow, rules you must abide, rules you have known since birth..._

 _But did you know? Sometimes rules could be broken. A role can be dropped. A role could be removed. A role could be..._

 _ **Forgotten.**_


	2. Down the hole we go!

**Summary**

* * *

 _Once upon a time, in a land called Wonderland, there was a Duchess. The Stronghold of Wonderland, they called her._

My name is Emma Nightshade. I'm a normal seventeen year old otaku struggling to get good grades while juggling social problems.

 _Strong, beautiful, and mysterious. The Duchess was a power to be feared and loved._

I didn't ask to go to Wonderland, where I was immediately branded as a foreigner. I didn't ask to be sent to a land where every citizen carried a gun around. I didn't ask to lose everything I ever held as important.

 _Until one day, she disappeared. Gone. Forgotten_. _Why? Who knows._

I definitely didn't ask for my whole life to suddenly be pulled under my feet, for everything I thought I knew to be shown false.

 _Legend says she still exists out there in the world, waiting for a chance to return._

Faceless rebellions? Roleholders galore? Intense fights? Yup, that's my life.

 _Wonderland, beware…_

There's more than meets the eye for _this_ foreigner.

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I don't own Heart/Joker/Clover/Diamond no Kuni no Alice. That belongs to Quinn Rose.

* * *

 **Chapter One:**

 _Down the hole we go!_

"Argh, I'm late!" I groaned as I shot out of bed like a rocket. I scrambled around the room for a second, trying to remember where my bag was, before I paused.

It was a Saturday. I don't have school today.

With a groan, I flopped back onto my bed, my energy depleted from my panic session. I glared at my alarm clock before throwing it across the room. Too bad, it's in a time-out.

I glanced out the window and frowned when I saw streams of light filtering in through the curtains. Fucking stupid goddamn curtains didn't properly block out the light.

Footsteps echoed down the hall and I heard Mom coming up the stairs. A second later, the door opened and she peeked her head in, smiling cheerfully. "Good morning, Emma!"

"Go away," I whined, burrowing under the blankets. Maybe if I wished hard enough, I could completely block out the sunlight, my mom, and the world, and sleep…

"Now, Emma, is that anyway to speak to your mom?" she scolded reproachfully. I heard footsteps approaching, albeit muffled, since I was still under my blanket.

I frowned. Where did she go…?

Then, all of a sudden my blankets were pulled off, and a blast of cold air hit me and I yelped, curling up and rolling off the bed. Fuck, ow.

Mom raised an eyebrow, throwing my blanket onto the bed before clucking her tongue. "That's what you get," She teased, before walking out the door. "Breakfast is ready, come down whenever!"

Sticking my tongue out very maturely, I grumbled before walking over to my closet, pulling out a white shirt, a pink skirt and I gently tucked the flower blossom behind my ear, smiling at my full appearance. I picked up a pair of striped leggings and put them on before putting a pair of converse sneaker. Grinning, I left the room and headed downstairs for breakfast.

"Someone's wearing fancy clothes," Mom teased as I came down.

I rolled my eyes, but smiled. For a single mom, she tried her best, and she was a great mom. "Got to dress my best always, right?" I joked back, pulling out the chair and sitting down at the dinner table.

She smiled and passed me a plate of pancakes, and I immediately drowned them in a sea of maple syrup, scarfing them down. They were delicious, just a bit crispy and the maple syrup balanced the flavour _perfectly_. Heavenly pancakes…

"What were you doing last night?" Mom questioned, watching me scarf the pancakes down. "Watching anime? Avengers? Doctor Who? Sherlock? Hetalia?" She smirked on the last one.

"Hetalia," I affirmed around a mouthful of pancakes. "It's really good!"

"I'm sure," She agreed. She stood up and cleaned my plate as I finished, then she put them in the sink. "Are you going out?"

"I'm going to the park." I grabbed a pink sweater (as you can tell, pink is my favourite colour… as well as my hair colour, now that I think about it…), my iPhone 6, and slung my headphones around my neck. Mom handed me my laptop, knowing full well that I was probably going to end up in a library, reading, browsing, and writing fanfiction.

I smiled, kissing her cheek gently before unlocking the door and walking out. We lived on a suburban street, and the houses were pretty expensive and big in this neighbourhood. Way too big for a family of two, but it was a nice house, and I didn't really want to move.

It was the kind of day that made you want to spend hours lying on the grass under a tree, a perfect warm, yet breezy sunny day, with no clouds in sight. I took the well-worn path through the woods in our backyard, cutting through several neighbourhoods, past a stream, and over a log before arriving at the park.

The park itself was a small abandoned park, the swings and playground rusted with age, but I still loved to spend hours on the bench, which was halfway concealed by some tree leaves. I brushed some fallen leaves out the way and settled on it, smiling at the familiarity, before opening up my laptop and connecting to the library's (which was just behind the park) wifi.

Little did I know, my perfect day was going to turn into one of the strangest in my life.

xXx

(4:15) _where r u?_

(4:15) _i cant find u_

(4:16) _?_

I picked up my vibrating cellphone and texted Violet back, saying I was out. I remained at the park the whole day, eating at the mall (pizza was good tonight).

(4:18) **Calm down, Vi, I'm out today**

(4:18) _oh_

(4:18) _lol bai_

I set the phone down before picking up my laptop, scrolling through several dozen tumblr posts. All of a sudden, the screen went black.

What the fuck? I rattled the computer and tapped the keys, but it remained dark. My eyes widened. Please don't let it be out of battery…

The screen lit up, and I grinned triumphantly. Yes!

…What? This wasn't my homepage…

I watched the computer tentatively, my mouth pursed into a tight line. The screen was completely white, with one line of text in the centre:

 _Every game has rules…_

What did that mean? It sounded almost threatening, but that didn't make sense. The words disappeared, replaced by a new strand of text. The screen changed to a dark black, and the words stood out, glaringly crimson.

 _Are you ready to play?_

A menu appeared.

_YES

_NO

I backed away from the screen, dropping my laptop onto the bench, freaked out. What the fuck happened to my laptop? Maybe it was overtaken by a virus. Yes, that made sense. I picked it up gingerly as the words "Yes" and "No" flashed menacingly, and then I wondered which way to go: home, or the nearest computer store?

As I picked it up, my hand smashed against the keyboard, and I froze as the computer made a really strange sound. Almost like it was cheering?

I glanced at the screen. Fuck.

I had clicked _Yes_.

 _ **YES**_

The screen dissolved into pixels, before my homepage showed up. Maybe it was just a glitch, or maybe I was seeing things. It was a long day.

Then - and I don't know if I was still hallucinating or not - but the ground broke down beneath my feet into a thousand pixels and I was falling.

What a _beautiful_ day… The sky was blue, the clouds were nice and fluffy… Oh, and the ground was disappearing.

Beautiful.


	3. I hate games!

**Chapter Two**

 _I hate games!_

When I was two years old, I fell of a swing set from three feet in the air and landed hard on my back. Thankfully, I wasn't injured, but the feeling as I fell was terrifying - swinging through the air with no control, the ground rushing closer.

This was similar, only a thousand times worse. As I fell, my stomach tried to plunge even further, and I screamed.

Cards with intricate designs and strange captions floated around me. Alright, Emma, that's it. No more watching Hetalia late at night. It's bad for you.

(As I think back on it, I sound relatively calm as I describe it. Honestly the only thing I was thinking was _ASDFJAL;SKDFSJFUCKFUCKFUCKIMGOINGTODIEIMGOINGTODIE!_ )

This was _so_ bad. How had this happened? I tucked myself into a ball and swallowed a sob threatening to burst out, knowing I'd sound hysterical. I was falling so fast, I felt like I wasn't even moving. Which was bad. Or good. I don't know.

My knuckles turned white, and I clenched them tighter, surprised and relieved to find that I still had my phone, for whatever use this was. I shut my eyes and prayed.

Please, please, please let this all be a dream… I opened them, hoping to see the pale pink walls of my bedroom, only to find I was approaching the ground.

Physics were screwed up. At least, in my dream. I fell towards the ground (a ground under a whole, what was this, Alice in Wonderland?!) and my feet touched the solid, rocky ground, my knees buckled and I keeled onto the floor.

My eyesight blurred and then it went black.

xXx

 _The house was burning, but she didn't care. She kept running down the path, ignoring the cries of help._

 _How did this happen?_

It was all her stupid role, she decided. Not her fault. The flames licked at the edges of her feet, but she didn't notice, didn't even flinch. The fire was nothing, even as her feet blistered from the heat, cracking.

" _Help me…" Someone croaked, and her heart leapt into her throat. Her pink hair was stained with crimson red (not her blood) and dark black from ashes, and her face was covered with soot. She glanced down to see a faceless boy coughing up blood by her feet._

" _Help me…" He pleaded again, turning his indistinct face up to hers. She pursed her lips and kicked him into the fire, ignoring the scream of agony. She soon smelled blood but ignored it._

 _What was the use of life in this world, anyway? Roleholders, Faceless, everything in this world was useless and replaceable. It was her cursed role that lead to her beloved mansion burning down._

 _Eyes narrowing, she pushed her way past the flames, which licked up her arms and down her chest, eating away at her tattered dress. The beautiful pink outfit the Cook bought her on her birthday… Destroyed. This was not a coincidence. No, this was planned._

 _She listened for footsteps and followed them away from the haunted orange glow of her mansion behind her, away from the screams of agony, away from the smell of death, away from everything…_

 _(Oh dear, Oh dear, the mansion was burning… Where was the cook? Did she add too many peppers again? Oh dear, Oh dear…)_

" _That was amazing, brother!" she heard someone cackle. She growled and peeked out at the speaker, ignoring the flames eating away at her arm, turning it to a blackened crisp._

 _(Oh dear, Oh dear, she was getting dirty… The Cook was going to be mad…)_

Of course, the Bloody Twins. Their outfits were speckled with soot, their face dotted with ash, but their fucking shit-eating grins remained.

 _So they set the fire… Bad boys must be punished._

 _She jumped out, smiling hysterically at them. "Hello, boys…"_

Both twins jumped before whirling around, their axes out immediately. Dee's eyes widened in shock. "Emma!"

" _That was rude," she scolded, the flames flickering up to her hair now, bathing her in a warm orange glow. Combined with the insane grin and the blood spotting her, she looked quite crazy._

" _I don' care," Dum spat, waving his axe around. "You an' that cook, you're a sorry excuse for roleholders."_

" _An' Boss told us to," Dee added, pointing the axe at her, no longer looking wary. He smirked. "You don' look too good."_

She halted, the axes just an inch away from her. She leaned in, and the Twins leaned back on instinct. "You'll look good in red," she said thoughtfully, smiling happily. "And so would Blood. Isn't that funny? He's called Blood! Blood! I love blood! I wonder how he'll look covered in blood?"

 _A giggle burst from her throat, sounding hysterical, and she continued. "Blood covered in blood! Isn't that so cool?"_

 _Her visage darkened and the twins shared cautious glances. "Emma…" Dum said, staring at her in confusion. "Are you okay?"_

" _Yes, ruby red is the best colour," she continued. "So nice, when dipped in a dark, red substance… The beautiful colour staining the white canvas… The mixture of red on white… Beautiful…"_

The fire had eaten away her pink hair, and she was covered in ashes. It started consuming her head, and her grin widened. "And I'm going to paint you~!"

 _She jerked forward and the twins jumped back as the axes sliced into her midsection, blood gushing out. She didn't feel it, instead surging forward with her arms out like she was going to give a hug, the axes going deeper into her skin, staining the tattered cloth on her she called a 'dress' a crimson red. Beautiful red._

 _(Oh dear, Oh dear, her dress was dirty… It was going to take forever to clean…)_

 _She giggled madly and kept going towards them, but then she stopped. Her eyes widened as she began to gurgle, blood choking her. She fell to her knees, the axes fell out, and she coughed out blood._

 _Beautiful, crimson, deadly blood._

 _Then she stopped moving, an eerie smile on her face as she regarded the blood on her. How fitting, to die covered in blood, she mused._

 _(Oh dear, Oh dear, she was going to die… Where was the cook?)_

 _The twins stared in terror as her body glowed. A minute later, a cracked clock appeared, the minute hand stopped on '11'._

 _Emma Duchess was gone._

xXx

"Miss? Are you okay?"

I blinked, my eyesight fuzzy. I stared up at what looked like the light blue sky, wondering what was happening. This was not my bedroom…

Then I allowed my eyes to stray to the left and nearly jumped back in horror, a shriek building up in my throat.

He had no eyes (actually, just really blurry eyes), and his nose was small and buttony, his mouth pursed in concern. "Are you okay, Miss?"

"You- you have no eyes!" I choked, jumping to my feet and staggering away. I clutched my head, which was pounding like a motherfucker.

He stared at me in confusion, before his eyes widened. "Ah! You're an Outsider!" he exclaimed, sounding pleased. "Ooh, this is exciting! I get to meet an Outsider!"

"Great," I mumbled, leaning against the tree, desperately wanting to close my eyes. "Uh, where am I? I'm not in Canada, am I?"

Was this a dream? Maybe. It felt like one. But I've never dreamed so vividly before…

The boy frowned at me. "No, you're in Hearts," he responded. "What's Canada?"

My eyes widened and I stumbled away from him. What? This was crazy. Absolutely crazy.

Oh. I was dreaming. Of course.

"Uh, nevermind," I said. "Would you mind pointing me to the nearest village…?"

He looked disappointed, but he nodded, pointing left. "Just go straight left, you can't miss it."

"Thanks."

I walked off in that direction, the grass under my feet felt springy and soft. It was so green, an unusually bright shade of green that just smelled amazing. (Was that weird, to say grass smelled amazing?)

The trees, too, were a brilliant green colour, and the leaves fluttered as a gentle breeze blew them aside. I couldn't help but smile, because despite the situation I was in, it was a pretty nice landscape for a dream.

Twigs cracked under my feet as I followed the direction the boy had said to go in. As I walked, I hummed a small tune under my breath, smiling happily.

Although I did wonder what happened to my real body. Clearly, I must have fallen asleep at the bench in the park, and dreamed of the computer screen changing colours. This was all just a weird dream. That meant I was either freezing to death in real life, or my mom was worried sick trying to find my sleeping self.

Neither option sounded happy, so I decided to focus on finding the correct path. It was easy to find the village once I could hear the hustle and bustle of people around me, so I ran out of the woods, and my mouth fell open in shock.

It was a picturesque scene, one that belonged on paintings of the 1900s in North America. Small houses and market stalls open on the cobblestone streets, followed by clusters of people. What made it so horrifying were the _eyeless people walking around_. _Eyeless_.

Note to self: don't fall asleep in weird places, as I'd get weird dreams.

I swallowed down my fear and walked into the crowd, wondering when I was going to wake up from this insane dream. The crowd swallowed me, and I shoved my way through, just like I would at home.

Ow. I clutched my head as it spiked, pulsing crazily and I took a deep breath before dropping my hands, continuing on my way.

Honestly, I had no clue where I was going, just walking forward. Maybe if I kept going I'd eventually get tired and wake up…

Logic was so screwed up…

I sighed and paused by a vendor, wondering if I could eat something. I scanned the fruits and rummaged in my pocket, wondering if I had money. I pulled out my phone and my headphones, before shoving them back in. I bit my lip, my hunger growing.

The vendor seemed to notice, because he asked, "Do you want something?"

"Er, yeah." I eyed the luscious apple gleaming in the sun. "Uh, I don't have money…"

"Then go," the vendor said, waving his hand at me. Then he looked up, and he gasped, his eyes (or, I assumed it was his eyes) widening. "You're an outsider!"

For the millionth time that day, I wondered what the fuck "Outsider" meant. To be honest, it sounded quite rude.

"Yes," I said, walking away slowly. "Uh, bye?" I started walking away from the vendor, but then he shouted at me: "Come back! Wait!"

I hesitantly started towards him again, wondering what he wanted to tell me. As soon as I got close, he gripped my arm with surprising force, and whispered, "Here, I'll give it to you for free. Because you're a, you know, Outsider." He winked at me, and I blinked in surprise.

"Thanks," I murmured gratefully, taking the luscious red apple. I took a bite out of it and closed my eyes, the sweet flavors sinking in my tongue.

"Have you seen any Roleholders yet?" he questioned.

Roleholders? What was that? I grimaced as my head pulsed again, this time not as painful.

"No…?" I replied carefully.

"Oh, but you have to! I hope you've drank the medicine of Hearts…" He bit his lip. "Well, we have one Roleholder here in the Summer season, the Amusement Park territory is just over the village to the left. You should be able to find Gowland or Boris."

Talking to him made my head hurt. He was speaking English, but the way he spoke was so foreign - what was Roleholder? What did he mean, 'summer season'? Amusement Park? (territory?) Gowland? Boris?

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Thanks for your help." I pulled away from him, but his grip remained tight. I tried again, but his hand tightened, his nails digging into my forearm. "Hey, let go!"

"Wait!" The man pleaded. "Just let me see, please?"

"See _what_?" I kept tugging, hoping to catch him off guard and release my arm.

"Your eyes!"

"You can already see my eyes, fucking dumbass!" Rage sparked up, and he swallowed, leaning away from me. I grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back, not really knowing where the strength or the moves came from, and he cried out and dropped my arm.

I stared at my hands in awe. Where did those moves come from? As far as I was concerned, I've never done that…

Backing away nervously, I took the path he told me to take, to the Amusement Park. I wondered why I didn't bring a hoodie, or why a hoodie didn't just… appear (as dreams were products of my imagination, right?), because my shirt started at my shoulders, and all the villagers were staring at me (more specifically, my eyes).

Oh well.

I trudged out of town, ignoring the heavy stares, to find myself in a forest. Uh…

I turned left, deciding to trust my instincts. My head began pulsing as I turned to the left, my feet finding a worn out path. It felt strangely familiar.

Shouts of laughter and cheerful music tinkled in the background, and I could smell buttery popcorn in the air. I walked faster, my pace quicker, and I started running. A grin stretched across my mouth as I ran, and then I turned the corner and arrived at the gates of the Amusement Park.


	4. You guys suck Seriously, you suck

**Chapter Three**

 _You guys suck. Seriously suck._

" _Hey, Boris?" Alice said curiously._

 _Boris looked up from where he was curled under the sunlight, looking as content as a cat could look. His head rested on her lap, and she patted him absentmindedly, scratching at his ears gently. He was such a cat._

 _"Yes, Alice?" He looked up at her, and his tail twitched. (She had to stop herself from squealing. He was just so cute.)_

 _Alice hesitated to say the next sentence, but curiosity won out eventually, and she blurted out, "Has a Roleholder disappeared before?"_

 _Boris stiffened at the question, but then he gently relaxed back into Alice's embrace. "Yes," he said reluctantly. "Normally there are replacememts… But she was never replaced."_

" _She?" Alice questioned. So there were other female Roleholders, she mused._

" _She was The Duchess." Boris said 'Duchess' softly, surprisingly tender. "She never wanted her role, but she was chosen. She lived in a mansion similar to the Hatters'."_

" _Was she a mafia boss?" Alice shuddered, remembering the horrifying fights between Blood and the faceless. No matter how expendable life was, it was still terrifying to witness death._

" _No. She had a huge territory though, and she was always fighting with the Hatters. A fiery girl, a dangerous one, Duchess was. She lived with her Cook." Boris' ears twitched at 'Cook'._

 _Alice wrinkled her nose. "A cook?"_

 _He shuddered. "Her cooking was terrible! She added way too many peppers!"_

 _Laughing, Alice said, "It couldn't have been that bad!"_

" _Oh, it was." Boris looked very serious, and Alice nearly burst into laughter again. "Only Duchess could stomach it."_

" _Did you know her?"_

 _He hesitated, then said, "I used to live in her territory before the Amusement Park."_

" _Really?" That was new. No one had mentioned Duchess before._

" _Did the other Roleholders like her?" wondered Alice._

" _Well, she got along pretty well with animal Roleholders like me," Boris mused. "That means Peter, Elliot - oh, and Pierce too. The Hatters'... not so much. She got along surprisingly well with Joker."_

" _Joker?" Alice squeaked. Her mind flashed back to the redhead with the single ruby eye wearing the jester costume and the warden costume, and shuddered._

" _I know, right? That guy gives me the creeps! She hated Nightmare and Gray, but she and Julius had some kind of mutual understanding."_

" _Huh." Alice leaned back, thoughts whirling, wondering what kind of person Duchess was. "What happened to her?"_

 _Boris' smile was dark. "Her mansion was burnt down, along with all the people in it. She went insane, and eventually she was killed by Dee and Dum."_

 _Alice shivered at his tone. "And no replacement?"_

 _"No. She was Forgotten."  
_

xXx

I gaped at the colourful gate of the Amusement Park, then looked around with wide eyes. Rollercoasters, swings, and carousels…

Squealing, I ran in, and immediately I found myself surrounded by hordes of Faceless workers, who wore colourful uniforms.

"I'm sorry, Miss, you need a ticket to go in~"

"Oh my, an Outsider! How wonderful, Boss would love to meet you~"

"But Boss isn't here, he's out… Oh, what do we do with the young lady?"

"Uh, I could leave," I suggested awkwardly as they crowded around me.

"Nonsense! That would be rude~!" A Faceless lady chimed in. The other workers nodded in agreement.

…Okay, then…

Despite the strange situation, I still felt disappointed at the prospect that I wouldn't be able to go in, even though I already arrived. My shoulders slumped and I turned around, preparing to leave, when a new voice rang out.

"Hey, what's going on?" Someone called out.

The Faceless fell silent, before one of them said, "Boris! Where's boss?"

The crowd of Faceless parted as he strode towards us, and I turned around, blinking in surprise. It was a pleasant surprise to see that he had eyes (I was beginning to worry about my own), although he had cat ears… and a tail.

Other than that, he looked pretty normal, with dark pink hair (darker than mine) and light golden eyes that were slitted like a cat's. (contacts?) He held a feather boa, curled around himself, and looked pretty strange.

The moment he looked at me, his face went slack with shock, his face darkening, but then it passed, and he was bounding up to me.

"Whoa!" Boris gasped, his tail wagging with excitement. (Was the tail real?) "Sweet! A foreigner!"

I wrinkled my nose at the term 'foreigner', but smiled anyway. "Uh, hi."

"Hi! Nice to meet you! I'm Boris!" He swiveled around me, peering at me with those strange gold orbs.

I snickered, watching him prance around. "Yeah, I know."

"What's your name?" Boris asked curiously. "You're surprisingly calm about this. How did you end up in Wonderland?"

I almost choked at the word 'Wonderland'. No way. I was _not_ in some Lewis Carroll novel. "I-I'm Emma Nightshade, and uh, I fell through a hole."

"Were you dragged?" He questioned, leaning in.

Why was I talking about this? I had some questions myself…

"Whoa, hold up!" I held up a finger and pushed him a little further away. "First, where am I? Why do these people have no eyes? Am I going insane? Probably, I mean, this is a weird dream. What's an Outsider? A roleholder? Can I get home?"

(You can't blame me for rambling. This was all really weird. Note to self: Stop drinking too much soda before bedtime.)

" _Wow_ ," marveled the cat. "I really am your first Roleholder. Great! You're in Wonderland, specifically Hearts -"

"- _What_?" I interrupted, gaping at him. "This is a joke, right? 'Wonderland'? What am I, Alice? Is this a Lewis Carroll novel? And 'Heart'? What kind of name is that? _So_ unoriginal. If it was a joke, you might as well -"

"And," Boris continued, ignoring my ranting, "I am a Roleholder! A very good one, too."

I pursed my lips, a little annoyed at how he wasn't taking my questions seriously. Let's say I believe him for a second. (I don't. Probably dreaming.) "But what _is_ a Roleholder?"

"You know those without faces? Those are the Faceless, the ones without a Role. They're not important. I am, because I have a face! There are other Roleholders - I'm the Cheshire Cat. You're an Outsider, so you have eyes, even though you don't have a role."

"I'm going insane." I groaned. "Great. Next, I'll be locked up in an asylum. Fucking fabulous."

Why is it that these things happen to _me_? Why not someone else? What if he was telling the truth? What about my mom?

Boris tilted his head to one side, his ears perking up. (That was cute.) "What can I do to convince you you're not?"

I sighed, straightening from my slumped position. "Nothing," I whispered dramatically.

I wanted to go home. Not stay here. I wanted to go back to the two story house I'd lived in almost all my life, to the mornings waking up to sunshine streaming in through my windows (and a panicked dance to collect all my stuff). I wanted to stay in the world where Violet barged into my room every Sunday to go to the mall.

I wanted to _leave_.

I maintained my pose as he watched me in confusion, before Boris snickered. "Haha, too bad. Nice try though. Hey, how about I take you on a tour of the Amusement Park (until Gowland gets home, that is), and then you can sort out your existential crisis."

"Really? You're not lying?" I glanced at him, trying to discern whether or not he was lying.

He grinned. "Let's go!"

…Well, I guess it is my dream. I shouldn't worry too much, no matter how realistic it was. I just had to hope mom could find my sleeping body…

I took his outstretched hand and he tugged me along, running towards the nearest rollercoaster.

xXx

"WHOOOO!" I screamed in elation as the rollercoaster plunged down another steep drop. My hands clutched the safety bar so tightly that my knuckles were turning white, but I still felt my stomach drop as we fell.

Boris laughed beside me, looking completely relaxed. He wasn't even gripping the safety bar, but seemed perfectly balanced. "Having fun?"

"Ye-AHHHHHH!" The rollercoaster turned sideways and spiraled into a loop. I caught a dizzying glimpse of an upside down amusement park before we dropped back down.

The car began the steep incline to yet another slope, and I used the time to observe the amusement park. It was a fairly large territory (Boris had explained that all territories were currently locked in a war for more ground. Seemed kind of pathetic, but it was a dream, so I guess it's okay.), expanding in all directions for miles.

Wherever I looked, I could see colourful banners and towering rides similar to this one. Screams of fear and exhilaration surrounded me, and the air smelt like popcorn and cotton candy. In the distance, I spotted a brightly coloured tower-swing ride, Faceless children screaming as the swings rose into the air and spun around.

Then the car reached the peak, and I swallowed in excitement. Boris was grinning as the car halted for a second.

"H-hey, what's going- OAAAAGHHH!" The car plunged down the drop and I screeched as my stomach attempted to fly out of my mouth. We were falling rapidly, the wind causing my hair to stream behind me as we fell.

"What do you think?" Boris yelled. He held onto the safety bar (oh, so _now_ he chooses to hold on.) tightly, his smirk never fading. His feathered boa (or his 'fur', he called it. Ridiculous cat.) steamed behind him like a fat, pink caterpillar. If caterpillars grew up to that size, that is.

"Brilliant!" I shouted back over the wind. The ride was slowing down as we approached the bottom, before screeching to a halt. A faceless worker hurried over to our sides, and I waited patiently as he unlocked the safety bar.

"Have a great day at the park~!" He chirped, and I twisted around to wave at him before Boris dragged me out of the car.

"So! Where to next?" smirked Boris. He let go of my arm before gesturing at the nearby rides.

I leaned on my knees, panting as adrenaline seeped through my veins. I looked up to see him cross his arms and grin back at me. I smirked in reply.

I scanned the park, looking for the tower-swing ride I saw while on the rollercoaster. Finally, I spotted it just little bit away from our current location. Tugging on his arm, I pointed to the ride. "I want to go on that one!" I declared.

"If you say so." Boris grabbed onto my arm and dragged me towards it. I flailed in his grasp before giving up, resigning to my fate of being dragged around like a doll.

"Hey! Boris, are you harassing our customers?" Someone shouted out, and I tried to turn around to see the speaker, but Boris' grip tightened so I couldn't escape. Fucking cat.

"Geh!" the Cheshire Cat (self-proclaimed) muttered. His voice was irritated as he grumbled, "Just leave us alone, old man!"

 _Old man_? I glanced up at Boris, who was gnashing his teeth in anger.

I wriggled my arm, but his grip didn't loosen. I relaxed my arm, and his grip loosened just a tiny bit. Grinning triumphantly, I tugged it free. Unfortunately, the momentum sent me tumbling to the floor, right in front of a pair of shiny black boots.

"Who's this?" asked the person curiously, and a minute later warm hands lifted me upright and placed me down.

The person in question had eyes (another Roleholder, then.), warm green eyes that crinkled at the corners as he smiled. He wore a pair of round glasses, and his brown hair was done in a small braid. (His outfit was pretty strange. I mean, who has _music notes_ on their jacket?)

"I- hi!" I said nervously. "Um, I'm Emma-"

Again, a strange look flashed through his eyes (the same one Boris had when he first met me, I noted).

"-Nightshade." I finished.

"Hey, old fart, don't hog the foreigner to yourself!" Boris complained, shoving aside the other Roleholder. He leaned down to me and whispered, "That's Mar-"

"I'm Gowland!" interrupted Gowland, shoving Boris away. He seemed surprisingly persistent as he said, "Ignore Boris - he's just a freeloader. I'm the owner of this Amusement Park -" His voice rose louder as Boris started wrestling with him.

"His name is actually Ma-" Boris shouted before Gowland clapped a hand over his mouth, smiling darkly at the cat.

"Hope you had a nice day at the Park!" Gowland added, removing his hand from Boris' mouth.

(…Note to self: find out what he's hiding.)

"Yes, a great day," I mumbled under my breath. Louder, I said, "Can you help explain some things to me? Boris didn't really tell me much."

"Didn't he? Not surprised. He doesn't do much for anything." Gowland's head swiveled around to face Boris'.

"I did explain!" protested the Cheshire Cat. "Didn't I, Emma?"

(No.)

"Uh, I just want some clarity." I turned to the Amusement Park Owner. "Can we go somewhere private? It's noisy."

Boris huffed. "Fine. I'm going to go find Pierce. See you later." He stalked away from us, pouting adorably. Soon, he was lost amongst the crowds.

"Pierce?"

"Ah, forget about it. Here, come with me. I'll explain some stuff." Gowland placed his hands on my shoulders and gently turned me in the opposite way, guiding me through the crowds.

When he met a Faceless worker, they chatted easily (about stuff like park maintenance and some kind of new ride being opened). Then the Faceless turned to me.

"Ooh! A foreigner, is it? Wow~!"

"Yes, her name's Emma," Gowland said.

"Have a great day, Emma~!"

We continued on before he _finally_ (good thing too, I was about to die) stopped in front of tall white building. Gowland pressed a button and the doors opened outward.

Fancy technology, I mused. I stepped in and nearly froze to death. The AC was _way too fucking high_.

Ignoring the chilly temperature (I swore I could see frost on the windows…!), I settled into one of the plush couches and buried myself under a mound of blankets. "So," I stared at Gowland. "Explanation?"

He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Yes. Wonderland is divided into four countries - Hearts, where you are currently, Clover, Diamonds and Spades."

(So Wonderland had countries named after playing cards. Fucking great.)

"Roleholders are people with faces. We all have official roles we have to follow, according to the rules. You've caught us in a special time: April Season."

In Canada (or Earth), we had 12 months, not an entire season named after _April_.

"What are the Roleholders?" I asked curiously. "Also, what's April Season?"

"April Season is when Clover and Heart temporarily converge. After a while, each territory has its own season. The Amusement Park's season is summer." Gowland cleared his throat, before continuing, grinning. "Also, that's when the Circus comes to visit. Joker runs the circus."

 _Joker_ … That name sent a jolt down my spine. Oh. An image flashed through my head, which began to pulse. I bit my lip as it seared suddenly. For the briefest moment, I could see something…

"...mma? Emma!" I opened my eyes (when did I close them?) to see Gowland hovering above me, staring at me in concern.

"Are you okay?"

"What happened?" I asked groggily, sitting up. (When did I fall down?)

"You collapsed," responded Gowland grimly. "Should we continue?"

"Yes." I ignored the pulsing in my head. "Who are the Roleholders?"

"From Hearts Castle, we have Queen Vivaldi, the Queen of Hearts. The Prime Minister is Peter White, or the 'White Rabbit' role. The Knight of Hearts is Ace - be careful of him, he's dangerous. From the Tower of Clover, we have the Nightmare, or Nightmare Gottschalk. He's the leader of the Clover Tower. His assistant, the Lizard - Gray Ringmarc. Then the Clock Tower, which is adjoined with the Tower of Clover. Julius Monrey, Clockmaker."

I sat still, processing the information. _Vivaldi, Peter, Ace (Caution!), Nightmare, Gray, Julius. That's only 6._

"From the Hatters' mafia -"

I choked. " _Mafia_?! Wonderland has fucking _mafia?_ "

"Yes. From the Hatters' mafia, we have Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum-"

(All from Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, I thought.)

"-the Gatekeepers. Then the Mad Hatter, Blood Dupre, and his henchman Elliot, the March Hare. Then there's their cleaner, Pierce Villiers, the village dormouse. He lives with us, though." Gowland made a sour face. I could've sworn I heard him mutter something… unpleasant about Blood.

(Also, who names their child _Blood_? Wasn't Dupre french? What language did the Wonderlandians speak, anyway? What if they were actually speaking another language and it was being translated into English like in _Doctor Who_?)

"What about Joker?" I leaned forward in interest, taking in his slight grimace at the name _Joker_.

"He's the Circus ringleader," Gowland said reluctantly. "That's about it."

There was a warning tone in his voice. _Ask no more,_ his voice said.

"Oh." I leaned back, feeling slightly disappointed. "Thanks."

The door burst open and Boris ran in, dragging another body with him. "I'm home!" he shouted out. I jumped and then relaxed when I saw who it was.

"Boris!" Gowland groaned. "Don't bully Pierce! I've told you again and again-"

"Emma!" interrupted Boris. I glanced down at the person he was carrying, seeing an unconscious guy with mouse ears and orange hair. His hat covered a portion of his hair, and he seemed to be drooling.

"Hi, Boris." I nudged the mouse guy. "Who's this?"

"Oh, him? That's Pierce." Boris made a face.

Gowland sighed. "Give me Pierce," he ordered. Boris scowled but handed Pierce over to Gowland anyway, who gently laid him down on the couch. I shifted away to give them more room.

Boris opened his mouth to speak when suddenly the ground shook. There was a loud _boom!_ coming from the amusement park, and then the tremors grew.

"Fuck!" Boris swore, jumping up to his feet. His hand flew to his hip, and my eyes widened as I spotted the gun. How had I missed that?

"Already?" Gowland growled, looking irritated. "The Faceless invasion was supposed to be in twelve time periods…! We have to evacuate everyone!"

I stood up rapidly, feeling like the room was spinning. "Let me come with you guys! What if you get hurt?"

"No." Gowland patted my head and gave me a soft smile. "Stay here and look after Pierce. We'll come back."

"But…!" My words trailed off as he ran out the door, and I watched, transfixed, I suddenly spotted his machine gun.

(Oh god. A land where people carry guns around with them…)

"Listen to him." Boris' tone was unusually solemn. "This is serious. Don't move - as long as you stay there you should be safe. Understand?"

I nodded mutely, my body feeling numb. Every nerve in my body seemed to have exploded, leaving only a remote feeling of false calm.

He jumped out the window and took off.

Far off, there were the sounds of more explosions and screams of terror as I sat alone in the lounge, my only company the sleeping mouse beside me.


	5. Sometimes I feel like

**Chapter Four**

 _Some days I feel like…_

~*~  
 **2 time periods earlier…**

"They're going to attack."

Gowland scowled, glaring angrily at the person across from him. Dark hair fell to his shoulders, a fancy black hat covering a portion of his head. Slender fingers covered by white gloves, holding a teacup with an air of elegance. _Blood Dupre, the Mad Hatter_.

He longed to rip the annoying smirk on the other man's face, but resisted. Elliot was standing at the door, looking alert and glaring at everything that moved. Although the marquis couldn't _see_ the gun, he knew his finger was poised right above the trigger.

"I _know_ that," he snapped. "I'm not here for pointless information. If you don't have anything useful to tell me, then leave. I'm not interested."

Blood gave a cold smirk, setting his teacup down onto its platter. "It's going to happen in twelve time periods."

"How do you know?" The Amusement Park owner crossed his arms stubbornly.

"The mafia has its ways," replied the Hatter simply. "The Faceless have been planning this rebellion for a long time. Don't take this warning lightly. In fact, this would cost you a lot."

"One square mile of land," responded Gowland. Clenching his teeth tightly, he continued, "Are the other territories safe?"

"From the Faceless? No." Blood shrugged, his finger resting delicately on the tabletop. He tapped his hand on the smooth oval surface (which now had multiple dents in it from various fights), seemingly unconcerned with the information.

 _That damned Hatter…_ Gowland held back a growl. Wonderland was in a critical stage as of now; the Faceless were a large problem. Added with the problems with the Rules… Everyone's territories and roles were maintained by a fragile balance that would be easily undermined. Not even the mafia were safe.

Already organizations were spreading across Wonderland. Although the extent of these rebellions were unknown (for now, they only seemed to be a problem in Hearts), a large-scale invasion wouldn't be good.

There was a light rap on the door, and Blood called out, "Come in." The door opened and Alice peeked her head in, light brown strands of hair falling from its loose bun.

"Blood!" she sounded frazzled when she spoke, her words jumbling together in one big rush of sounds. "Vivaldi called another meeting for you right now concerning the new territory by your tea shop. We need to leave. Now."

Elliot stood up, grinning triumphantly. The not-hare stretched his long limbs. "All right! We can finally move!"

Blood sighed but stood up all the same, grabbing his cane as he went. "Fine. Elliot, fetch Dee and Dum. The Gatekeepers must be here on this occasion. _Mary_ ," (This syllable was spoken with emphasis) "I'll see you soon."

With one last smirk, Blood Dupre and the mafia were gone.

xXx

The ground trembled as explosions rocked the ground. Outside, I watched as various rides crashed to the floor, some still carrying people in them. My heart thudded painfully as cars dropped from the Ferris Wheel, carrying screaming people to their deaths.

Oh god… How many will die today? Will they be okay?

I swallowed before tearing my eyes away from the scene, focusing on the Roleholder (Pierce, if I remembered correctly) lying down beside me. If the room was demolished, I wouldn't be able to help him much.

"Please come back, Gowland, Boris," I breathed to the empty room. No response. The tremors stopped, but the screams in the aftermath were worse. I refused to look back outside, in fear of seeing something worse.

My heart started pounding even harder as I heard debris falling close to this building. What if it hit a wall, and the whole structure collapsed…?

No. Best not to think about that.

 _Close your eyes. In, out. In, out._ My breathing steadied as I inhaled and exhaled rhythmically. It's all a dream, it's all a dream…

I stood up and paced around the room impatiently. What was going on outside? I briefly considered going outside to check, but then quickly decided against it. Boris and Gowland told me to stay put. I wasn't going to disobey them.

That said, it felt stifling to stay inside this room, not knowing what was happening. I glanced at the couch where Pierce was still snoozing, unaware of the danger he was in. I couldn't just leave him behind. He was defenceless.

A quick peek outside couldn't hurt…

I stopped pacing and reached for the doorknob, when suddenly the door exploded. I dove to the ground as wood chips fell to the ground, splinters of wood peppering my arms. My ankle seared as I fell, a nauseating crack resounding through the room. On the couch, Pierce squeaked and woke up.

"Wh-what?" he shivered, standing up. He looked around, looking scared, before his eyes swiveled to me. "What's -"

Then I heard heavy footsteps approaching the building, and I quickly placed a hand on his mouth, gesturing for him to hide. He shook his head, but I shoved him in that direction. I stared woefully at my ankle. I couldn't move with it like this - the bone was probably broken.

I took a few deep breaths, watching Pierce as he scrambled behind another couch. Hopefully he stayed quiet. I closed my eyes and leaned against the wall, listening carefully.

"In here!" A gruff voice shouted out. "I heard someone!"

More footsteps. My breath began to speed up, my heart thudding so painfully that I felt like it would burst out of my chest. My palms began to sweat and I wiped them on my dress.

"Are you sure~?" The next voice to speak was distinctly feminine. "I mean, this looks like all the other buildings, and they were abandoned~."

"Yes, I'm certain," the first voice said impatiently. The voices were growing louder and the footsteps were approaching. I waited, not daring to breathe, as a tall man wearing an Amusement Park uniform stepped into the room. At first, my heart soared as I recognized the uniform, then fell rapidly. Clearly, this wasn't one of the workers. They didn't explode doors. (I think so, anyway…)

He was followed by a slim, willowy woman with dark tresses that tumbled to her back. In her hands she carried a big gun, her finger poised delicately over the trigger. Both were faceless, stepping carefully over the wreckage of the ruined door.

In no time, the faceless man's eyes found me, huddled against the wall, clutching at my ankle. His smile grew, turning into something darker and malicious. Despite the warmth, I shivered.

"Look, Marissa! An Outsider!" The man smirked, taking a step forward. I tried to make myself seem smaller, pressing myself against the wall as he approached. "How lucky! The Roleholders would go crazy for this!"

Marissa snorted. "Not very remarkable, isn't she, Brent?" she replied, surveying the room carefully. I prayed to every deity I knew that Pierce would stay silent. "I mean, Outsiders are a big deal. She doesn't look like much." She observed my broken ankle with a critical eye.

"So? Who cares about her? It's her value as an Outsider that matters. She doesn't look like Alice, though…" Brent frowned at me, now an inch away. He grabbed my leg with such ferocity, I nearly jumped.

Swallowing nervously, I avoided looking at him, ignoring the fire eating away at my ankle as he tightened his grip.

"Hey! Look at me!" His hand gripped my jaw and forced me to turn to look at his eyeless face. "What's your name?"

"L-Lucy," I lied, darting my eyes around the room desperately. Someone, please…!

"Lucy? I haven't heard of that before." Marissa stared at me. Although I couldn't see her eyes, I could feel them boring into me, taking into account my pink hair and rumpled dress.

"I - I landed in Wonderland today," I answered honestly. Brent's hand on my jaw was now so tight I felt like my jaw would snap off.

"A new foreigner? Do you think she'll be that useful?"

"I'm not sure. She's not Alice. Should we let her go?"

They hesitated, and I held my breath, barely daring to hope. Would I be let go…?

Then Marissa shook her head, lifting her gun up with an expression of faint disgust. "Ah, well. We should kill her then. Not much use to us now, right? It'll teach her a lesson, anyway." She placed the cold barrel of the gun against my head, and I braced myself for impact. Her finger inched towards the trigger of the gun.

 _Goodbye,_ I thought. _Bye, world. Bye, Boris. Bye, Gowland. Today was fun…_

Then I heard not the sound of gunfire but two shrieks and the sound of something whiz through the air. I opened my eyes, not understanding what I was seeing.

The bodies of Marissa and Brent were sprawled across the ground, blood painting their brightly coloured uniforms red. Standing above them, Pierce stood, panting as his hands clutched at a red-stained knife.

"Are you okay?" Pierce dropped the knife and rushed over to me. I flinched as he nearly tripped over my legs, and he panicked. "I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" He gingerly cradled my ankle. "Oh. It's broken."

"Brilliant observation." I spoke raggedly, my breath hissing unevenly through clenched teeth. "Can you fix it?"

He frowned. "N-no, I don't think so. I'm Pierce, by the way. Who are you?"

(Yes, I know, I wanted to say, then decided that sounded like a stalker.)

"Emma. Emma Nightshade. Uh, I'm an - ow! - Outsider." I winced as he gently pressed down on my ankle.

Pierce removed his hands from my ankle, then frowned in concern. "This is going to be a problem," he confessed. "I should get you to Uncle Gowland."

Despite the heavy atmosphere, (and the bodies of the dead Faceless I was determined not to look at) I giggled anyway. It sounded a little hysterical, but it still lightened the mood a bit. "Uncle Gowland?"

He nodded, looking a little happier too. "Yeah! He's such a nice guy! Even though I'm -"

He was cut off by a large explosion, closer to us this time. I yelped and buried my face into his sweater. From his chest, I could hear a strange sound. I frowned, leaning in. _Click, clack, click, clack_.

Before I could think about it, Pierce hoisted me onto his back. I shrieked in surprise, clutching at his jacket. "Stay still!" he shouted.

Then he started running.

When I say _running_ , you're probably thinking: _Oh, he's running in a closed room, not a good idea._ No. He was actually _running_. I mean, running so fast I was left clinging to his back as he charged out of the room, smashing into at least five walls (Their architect must have been shit, I decided), and the scream was tore out of my mouth.

Pierce raced past the Amusement Park, and I caught a glimpse of the wreckage. I let out a choked sob.

Faceless workers were trying to rescue people caught under the rubble, but there were already many bodies strewn across the ground. The Ferris wheel lay on its side, crushing a donut stand. The tower swing I had wanted to go on earlier had been leveled to half its original size, swings collapsed randomly on top of other buildings. There were several gunfights going on between the Faceless. Several buildings were on fire.

I didn't see Boris and Gowland anywhere, but the Amusement Park was big after all. Pierce raced past it all, and soon the gates of the park came into view. He didn't stop until the Amusement Park was nothing but a dot on the horizon.

I looked around as he carefully slid me down, making sure not to jostle my ankle. We were in a big forest, doors all around us. I sat nested in a pile of moss covered rocks. (And, of course, because this dream wasn't weird enough already, the trees all had doors embedded in each trunk. Tree houses?)

"We're in the Forest of Doors," Pierce explained, seeing my confused look. "The doors take you where you want to be. You've got to be careful, though - the only one who can use them reliably is Boris, but that's because he's the Cheshire Cat." He shivered at the words 'Cat'. (I mentally rolled my eyes.)

I glanced around, feeling slightly nervous at the lack of noises. "Uh, are there any animals here?" (Like bears? I added mentally. Even if I was Canadian that didn't mean I liked bears…)

"Well, yeah, but-" Another explosion came from the direction of the park. Although we were too far to feel it, my heart clenched as I watched another column of smoke rise into the air. This was much worse than I thought it would be. Much worse than Pierce thought it would be too, judging by the dark look on his face.

"Emma, stay here." He stressed out the 'here'. "Don't move. You'll be fine so long as you stay near the doors. Don't talk to _anybody_. Understand? I need to go to the park."

"Don't -" I reached out to grab his arm, but he had already started running back to the park. I gazed at his retreating figure, before growling in annoyance.

"Stupid roleholders!" I fumed, grabbing a stick and throwing it at the nearest tree. It clanged off the surface of a door, falling to the ground and breaking into pieces. "Oh, sure, go off and be noble and leave me here - fucking assholes." I scowled.

I tried to stand up but nearly collapsed back onto the rock. "Fuck! Not another stupid branch… Godammit!" I groaned.

Great. I was useless, and the other Roleholders were busy off with the Amusement Park. Not to mention I was stuck here alone with possible bears.

"Where is she?" I heard someone say.

I immediately sealed my lips, even as another voice replied, trembling, "Right around here, sir!"

I swallowed. Faceless? Or another Roleholder?

Turning around, I saw a faceless worker (or, I assumed he was a worker) leading a man close to me. As soon as I met his eyes, my head began to pulse. Red hair up to his shoulders, a single ruby coloured eye, an eyepatch… The warden's hat, the the mask on his belt…

Oh.

 _Joker._


	6. Welcome to the Circus!

**Chapter Five**

 _Welcome to the Circus!_

Joker stared at me openly, his mouth falling open in a perfect 'o'. He seemed not to have understood what was going on.

(I was in a similar position, although I recovered first.)

"Ooh! A Roleholder!" I beamed, clapping my hands eagerly. Mixed with the cheerfulness was relief. _Finally, someone can get me out of this hellhole_. "You must be Joker! (Total guess.) Thank god you're here! I'm lost."

He blinked, looking astounded, before his brain seemed to work. "Who the hell are you?" Joker demanded, his single red eye glaring at me.

…Well, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed today… That was rude. I thought this guy was supposed to run the circus? How could he run a circus with that attitude?

So I scowled, crossing my arms in front of my chest and try to look as reproachful as possible. (It doesn't seem to work, mainly because my leg is still injured and I couldn't stand up.)

"Well, someone's rude," I huffed. "I'm Emma Nightshade."

A strange expression flashed onto his face for a second, but then it disappeared. "Nice to meet you, dumbass." Joker snorted. "Now, what are you doing here?"

I guess he didn't want to introduce himself? But I already said I knew he was Joker, so maybe that was it? I internally groaned. I hate assholes.

Still, I felt my cheeks flush in embarrassment. How was I supposed to say, " _Pierce left me here after he took me out of the Amusement Park and told me not to wander, but I'm lost and annoyed"_?

I cleared my throat. "Uh, I'm lost," I admitted, staring at the ground. Great. He probably thought I'm a total loser now.

Joker groaned. "Great," he said angrily. "Every fucking bitch just has to be lost. Well, dumbass, why didn't you pay attention to where you were going?"

Anger replaced shame. "I'm sorry," I spat, waving my arms angrily in the air. "I was being _carried_. By a Roleholder, no less. Is that what you guys do? Grab an innocent girl, dump her in a forest, then leave, all noble-like?"

"Shut up," snapped the warden. "I'm helping you find your way out, so get on your fucking feet or I'll leave you here."

Scowling, I tried to stand up, but then almost immediately crumpled. Fuck… My ankle…! "I- I can't," I mumbled. "My ankle…" I gestured at it.

Joker looked furious, and opened his mouth to say something scathing, probably, but the faceless cut in. "I'll help you, Miss!"

"Thanks." I smiled wanly at him as he leaned over and cradled me against his chest. I nestled against the Faceless' chest. _Click, clack, click, clack_. The same sound as before… It sounded familiar; yet at the same time I couldn't name it. It was driving me crazy.

"Fine, let's hurry up," Joker grumbled. He started walking back towards… well, I assumed it was towards the circus, but considering I had no idea where we were going…

I watched as slowly the dirt path we were walking opened out into a huge clearing. My eyes widened as I drank in the sight of the circus. There were colourful red and yellow tents set up, all clustered around a main tent. (I assumed that was where the performances were taking place.) Faceless rushed around, while a man in a jester suit directed them, barking out orders.

I blinked, taking in the Jester's appearance, then looked back at the Warden in front of me. What? Twins? Gowland didn't mention anything about there being _two_ Jokers!

"Joker!" The Jester turned around and grinned. "There you are. I was wondering where you went."

Joker scowled. "Yeah, well, one of your shitty clowns found _her_." He jerked his chin at me. "And she's injured."

"Oh?" mused the Jester. "Well, well… Look who we have here. An Outsider." The mischievous in his eye immediately put me on guard.

"Yes, hello, I'm Emma-Nightshade-the-Outsider, and who are you?" I recited. The Faceless that held me set me down gently in front of the Jester, so I was now looking at a pair of fancy red boots.

It's bad enough being short and having to look up to people. It's worse when said people happen to be unusually tall. It's hell when I can't even stand up and am forced to look only at their boots.

"I'm Joker," the boots replied. (Well, I was looking at the boots. I think Joker was the one who replied.)

"What?" I demanded, looking up at the mirrored faces above me. The only difference were their expressions; the Jester looked amused, the Warden scowled.

"You're Joker -" I pointed at the Jester, "and you're Joker-" I gestured at the Warden. "How the fuck does that work?"

"Well, you better fucking believe it," the Warden replied snootily. He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Are you twins…? Or…?" I trailed off, feeling a little embarrassed under their scrutinizing stares.

"Not twins," reassured Joker.

Joker snorted. "As if I were twins with _this_ shitty clown." He gestured at Joker.

"Please excuse my counterpart's words," Joker said, smiling pleasantly. "He does get a little worked up sometimes. He's a nice guy, really."

( _Counterpart_ …? So they were the same person split in two bodies? That was some crazy anime logic right there… But then, this dream was already weird, so I guess it's not that strange.)

" _What?!_ " Joker choked out. " _Nice guy?_ Are you out of your fucking mind?"

So began the argument between Joker and Joker.

Don't worry if you're confused. I am too. I bit my lip, looking back and forth between the shiny red boots and the grimy black boots as they argued. (Well, Joker retorting to Joker's comments.) Faceless attendants shied away from them, heads lowered and gaze on the ground, although a few shot curious glances in my direction.

I shifted, feeling a little uncomfortable as Joker shouted. Also, this was getting confusing. I needed new names. I looked at the Jester, then turned to the Warden, who was snarling out insults at the other.

It was like the _dark side_ of Joker and the _bright side_ of Joker. Oh. (I just had a sudden inspiration of thoughts.) Black and White! Perfect names! (Okay, they aren't creative, I know. Bear with me. It was a spur-of-the-moment kind of decision.)

"I got it!" I cheered, smacking my fist against my open palm, the way people do when they've got brilliant ideas. The two Jokers stopped arguing, staring at me in confusion.

"You're Black -" I pointed at the Warden.

" _Black?!"_ he screeched. " _That's_ the name you give me? I swear, you fucking-"

"And you're White," I declared over Black's ranting, gently tapping the Jester's boots.

"Well, this certainly brings back memories," White commented. "If that's what you wish to call us, then please do. After all, it is nice to have some individuality."

Now that the confusing name problem was resolved, the more pressing issue of where I was going to stay and my leg refreshed. (It was hard to think with Black yelling in the background for us to ' _pay attention to him, fucking bastards!_ ')

"Black, shut up!" I growled, smacking his boot. (Well, I couldn't exactly reach his head…) "I'm trying to think!"

"Think?" Black sneered. "I thought you didn't have a bra- Ow! What the fuck?"

"That's what you get," I said smugly, releasing the rim of his jacket. "Anyway, while I appreciate this entertaining conversation -"

(White smirked.)

"- I, uh, kind of broke my ankle." I finished. "So, if you could, you know, help me out, that'd be, uh, great."

" _Help you_?" Black snorted. "Like hell I'd -"

"- We'd love to," White cut in. He leaned down and I yelped as he suddenly scooped me up into his arms. I flailed around a bit before realizing that a) it didn't work, and b) he was trying to help me.

Black grumbled something but didn't answer. I peeked over White's shoulder to see the two of them exchange glances. His expression changed for the briefest minute - his scowl softened, and his shoulders untensed themselves - then he saw me watching and instantly his scowl was back in place.

"What are you looking at, bitch?"

"Nothing." I muttered under my breath, turning back to face the front. White didn't comment, but continued to stride, his pace even and gentle. Soon, we reached the largest tent, and he opened the flap.

I gazed around with amazement. Although I have seen some circus', such as the _Cirque du Soleil_ that Quebec was famous for, I had never seen one so big.

Cages rested in the corners of the huge tent, some containing lions or tigers and various other animals. The ceiling was decorated with checkered triangular flags, while trapezes dangled between them. A tightrope, about a couple dozen feet up extended from one side of the tent to the other, a safety net placed directly under the rope. Under even that was a round, circular stage, about ten feet in radius, with small flags decorating the bottom.

"Wow." I whistled appreciatively. "That's big."

"Thank you." White set me down on the stage, before calling a Faceless attendant over. I watched curiously as the Faceless nodded before hustling to the other side of the large tent.

Black strode towards me, leaning against the stage, looking bored. White returned, standing by my other side so if someone took a picture right now we would get perfect symmetry. Well, almost.

Soon, the Faceless scurried over, carrying a First Aid pack with him. White thanked him before opening it, pulling out a few bandages.

"Lift your leg up, please?" requested the jester. I lifted it up, careful not to scrape my ankle. He wrapped the bandage around the ankle before securing it with some tape. I winced as he tenderly touched the leg.

"There. That should hold," White said, sounding satisfied. I let my leg fall, wondering how long it'd take for that to heal. Months, most likely. That was not something I was looking forward to.

"I don't understand why you're so worked up over it," complained Black. "It's going to heal in the next time period, anyway."

"What?" I demanded, testing the makeshift cast out. "Time period?"

White gave me a curious look. "Yes, time periods. The fracture should mend in the next time period which should be in just a few - ah, look." He pointed at the entrance to the tent, where I can see just a glimpse of the sky, which was now nightfall.

"I swore it was noon when I came in," I murmured, leaping off the stage. In my eagerness to check out the outside world, I forgot about my broken ankle. To my surprise, it didn't even hurt, working perfectly. I tore the bandages open, and gaped at it. It was as if I never broke the bone.

"Wicked," I breathed. So there were some advantages to living here. It was a dream, so it was to be expected. I grinned, continuing my way outside. I pulled open the tent flap, and peered at the darkened sky.

"What do you think, dear?" White spoke up from beside me. I jumped, having not heard him creep up.

"Don't do that!" I hit him on the arm, but then turned my attention back to the night sky. It was beautiful, a patchwork of white stars against the midnight-hued sky.

Then I remembered the Amusement Park. Guilt flooded through my body and I swallowed. "White?"

"Yes, my dear?"

"What happened to the Amusement Park?"

A shadow crossed his face. From the stage, Black snorted. "Who knows? The duke would be damn lucky if his park is still standing when the next time period rolls around. Even this kind of damage can't be repaired by the changing time periods."

"That's-!" Words couldn't express my horror well enough. I remembered Boris, talking to me animatedly as we waited for the long line to end. I thought about Gowland, who'd taken the time to help me, a clueless Outsider, understand the world. Then Pierce flashed through my mind. Despite it all, he'd saved me.

"Why are you so worried? It's not like they wouldn't be replaced." White pondered.

"Of course I'm worried!" I argued, spinning around to face him. "They're alive, aren't they? If they die…" My voice broke.

"We'll just be replaced." White's voice changed in tone, sounding much darker and a lot more somber. I shivered, despite the warm night air.

"But-" I protested. I searched for the right words. How can I explain to them the absolute horror of watching another body fall to the ground? Of having someone I knew and remembered fondly die? It was bad enough to see Faceless die. Having Boris or Gowland or even Pierce die…

(And what did they mean, 'replaced'?)

"Now come." White took my hand and guided me back into the tent. "It's no use worrying about that now. Do you have a place to stay? Why not at the circus?"

" _What?_ " Black and I chorused. I sounded alarmed, he sounded annoyed.

"You're going to let _her_ stay here?" he shrieked.

"Thanks for the offer, but I really don't know if that's okay…?"

"Nonsense!" White chastised. "You're a young foreigner in a world at war. Of course we have to take you in!"

"Uh, thanks?"

Black scowled, but refrained from speaking. He did, however, direct a dirty glare at his counterpart when he thought I wasn't looking. (I was.) Being the mature seventeen year old I was I stuck my tongue right back at him.

"Hold on to me, dear," White said smoothly, slipping my arms around his waist. As I complied, I noticed the strange mask hanging off his belt. It looked almost like a theatre mask - but not. I twisted around to see a matching mask on Black's belt.

Then the world twisted around me, darkening. We slipped into the shadows.


	7. Wonderlands Circus is not that Wonderful

**Chapter Six**

 _Wonderland's Circus is not that Wonderful_

* * *

 **[CONFIDENTIAL FILES]**

 **Emma Duchess**

" _Stronghold of Wonderland"_

 **Card:** Destroyed

 **Special Comments:**

\- Unusual stirrings

\- Shuffle deck

* * *

Cold. Very cold. Freezing, like a thousand icicles stabbing into my skin over and over again. (Cold enough to make me question its temperature - was it freezing, or burning?) The kind of cold that left you shivering. The kind that welcomed numbness.

(Why was it so cold? Part of me wondered. We didn't leave the circus. Did we?)

(Oh dear, this was not good. Oh dear, oh dear…)

Darkness. That was all of it around me. Like the floor suddenly vanished, plunging me into the pits of nothingness. There - that was the perfect word to describe it. _Nothingness_. It was so empty, so hollow, it desired to be filled. With what, I could only imagine. Hopes and dreams? _Me_? It was a frightening thought.

My mind whirled as I tried to think of plausible explanations, but my thoughts were scattered. White had wrapped an arm around me, holding me tight. _Hold on to me, dear_. Then the world darkened, the sky disappeared, the floor disappeared. Even the warmth of his arms.

As I drifted - was it drifting, really? - I noted that I couldn't move. Was that bad? Was that good? Maybe I was finally waking up from this demented dream.

It was fun while it lasted.

But I didn't wake up. I didn't see the familiar pink walls of my bedroom. I didn't see at all. (Was I seeing this in real life, or were my eyes closed? Who knew?)

Where was Black? And White? I thought they were taking me to a room? I was kind of tired… I wanted to sleep…

"-We're losing her!" A panic tinged voice resonated in my head.

Losing me… That didn't sound good. I didn't want to be lost. Not here. It was scary.

"For fuck's sake!" Another person growled. I waited. Silence. A second later, my eyes flew open and I gasped, sitting up in a huge bed. I blinked, disoriented.

"Wh-where am I?" I looked around. I was in a room I didn't recognize, the walls and floors made of stone and the room decorated with gray and black decor. It was actually kind of depressing, really.

"You're in the prison," explained White. It was then I noticed that they were both leaning over me, White smiling pleasantly and Black scowling irritably. (Normal, then.)

"Prison?" I demanded, trying to stand. Almost immediately, I fell over. I blinked the dizziness out of my eyes. "Am I being arrested?"

"No, you stupid assfuck," growled Black. He folded his arms across his chest menacingly. "The prison is _my_ realm. The fucking clown does the circus, I maintain the prison. Got it? Or was that too much for your puny brain to process?"

Ignoring him, I turned to White, who was generally known to be more helpful. "How did we get here? All I remember was you telling me to hold on."

"Ah, yes." He nodded. "The prison realm is located in another dimension. As one of the keepers of the prison, I have easy access to it. It simply required a little _bending_ of reality."

"What was that darkness, then?" I asked, remembering the crushing blackness that had scattered my thoughts and rendered me immobile.

"Darkness?" Black spoke up incredulously. "What darkness? I think you're going blind, bitch. You passed out as soon as we entered the prison realm." Then, under his breath, "Wimp."

I refrained from throttling the shit out of the annoying Warden, clenching my fists around the colourful blue bedspread. "So… Why is there a bedroom in the prison?"

"Where else do we stay? Use your brain a bit." spat Black.

"He means that the circus, while warmer, is a lot noisier and not as private of a place to stay in compared to the relative peace of the prison," White translated. I stifled a giggle at the look on Black's face.

"That sounds weird. I thought the circus would be a better place to live," I mused out loud. I stood up shakily on the bed, shoving both Jokers out of the way.

(Black landed on the floor with a thud, while White bounded to his feet. It was amusing how startlingly different the two were, yet how extremely similar at the same time. Like two sides of the same coin, I theorized.)

I ventured off the bed, carefully stepping over Black's limbs, and opened the door to a plain stone hallway. "What's outside? Can I see the prison?"

(I wondered briefly how the prison worked here, considering the numerous gunfights that seemed to spring up out of nowhere… What about police?)

"Hell no!" Black shot to his feet. "I don't trust you! What if you release all my prisoners? Do you know how much of a hassle that'd be?"

"Hey, I wouldn't do that!" I protested, crossing my arms over my chest. It was then I realized I was still in the same clothes I wore… Yesterday? Previously? Well, I didn't change clothes. They were still bloodstained and grimy.

"Uh, actually, can I change outfits?" I asked awkwardly, closing the door. "I mean, I know I don't have anything else but this is kind of…"

"Of course!" White swept me up in his arms. (I barely reacted. Honestly, I was starting to realize that Roleholders didn't have a good understanding of _personal space_.) He opened another door, and I found myself in a bathroom.

The bath tub was pretty big - twice the size of a normal one, and twice as deep. Being the tiny seventeen year old I was, it would go right up to my neck if I was sitting down. A shower curtain was drawn around it, although there was no shower head ot be seen.

"Wow," I breathed in astonishment. I wondered privately how much money it must have costed to install such a huge bathtub. Did Wonderland even have currency? They must have, after all I bought (well, took) an apple from the vendor earlier…

"Nice, isn't it?" White set me down gently. "Here - take a bath. I'll set some clothes up for you. I hope you don't mind wearing circus clothes?"

"Not at all," I reassured gratefully. "Just leave them on the counter."

I shoved the clown out of the bathroom before closing the door, stripping and leaving the bloodstained clothes on the counter. I reached into my hair and plucked out the flower hair accessory, which was now speckled with blood. I pursed my lips, debating whether or not to keep it.

I could always buy a new one, I reminded myself. I threw it into the trash can before eagerly turning to the large ornate bathtub. The tap creaked when I opened it, but the rush of warm water made it worth it. I slid into the hot water, drawing the shower curtains closed.

As the water slid over my skin, a sigh escaped my throat. The water was soothing, and as I sank further into the water my muscles untensed.

This, I decided, was what bathing was all about.

xXx

White skidded to a stop in front of the bathroom door, having been thrown out by the foreigner. The door slammed before he could go back in, but he didn't hear the lock click, so she obviously trusted him.

A smirk slid onto his face, unbecoming on his usually cheerful demeanour. How foolish. Even after having revealed his counterpart (unlike how they did it with Alice, who had almost instantly fallen into the cage), she still trusted them.

White shook his head. Outsiders were a truly curious matter. They didn't seem to realize how much danger they were in. Admittedly, they didn't know much about Wonderland. Still, it was a wonder how the Outside world managed to have maintained such a stable lifestyle in a land full of fools.

Black snorted, from his position on the large bed that had previously been occupied by Emma. "Outsiders," he said distastefully. "Pathetic creatures."

White raised an eyebrow. "Fascinating," he corrected. "This April season is going to be quite the game."

"Emma." Black carefully pronounced the name as if it were poison. Perhaps it was. In Wonderland, one never knew. "She slipped into the cage as soon as we stepped into the prison. Did you feel it? She's going to be way easier to trap than Alice."

Of course he felt it. The prison's magic was subtle, slowly bringing out the worst emotions out of everyone. It was his role. (It was also why he was so hated out of all the Roleholders.)

But more than that, Emma had immediately slipped into despair as soon as she stepped into the prison. For the briefest second, Joker had been worried they lost her into the darkness. What would the fun be in losing her to insanity immediately?

The cage had proved flexible to her whims. That was not good. Thankfully, Joker had thought fast, bringing out a warm memory within the prison cells. (Not that there were many.) And then she slipped out of the cage's grasp, but well out of the grasp of insanity too.

How entirely _fascinating_. Joker had no idea how these Outsiders worked, or how they thought. Curious little creatures who lived their whole lives in a lie. (Look at Alice, still unable to accept her sister's death.) It made him want to keep them, take them apart, and find out what made them tick.

The puzzle for Emma was that, unlike Alice, who already had traumatic experiences, Emma had none. So the logical choice would have meant that it was impossible to trap her. But she had slipped into the cage immediately, while they had to dance around Alice, weaving in her enclosure.

Why was that? During the briefest moment of despair, Joker had felt her memories - all happy ones. Content moments with her mom and friends. Despite the divorce between her parents, Emma had been relatively fine.

The solution to that question ran much deeper than he thought. Maybe it had something to do with the Roleholder Emma resembled so much in every way…

Either way…

 _T_ **h** _e_ **g** _a_ **m** _e_ **h** _a_ **s** _b_ **e** _g_ **u** _n_.

xXx

The water was beginning to cool. I turned the tap off and pulled out the plug, stepping out of the tub and pulling on a fluffy white towel. Steam covered the mirrors and the stone floor was cool, but I trudged forward anyway.

On the counter, I found a pile of brightly coloured clothes, which I scrutinized. I pulled out the shirt and frowned at it, before shrugging and slipping it on. The small clown suit was a little tight, but it still felt okay. I left the hat off. No use in promoting myself as more jester-y than usual.

I let my hair hang loose as I stepped out of the bathroom. I opened the door and peeked out. Black lay on his back on the huge bed, dangling his warden's hat by a finger. White was nowhere to be seen.

Deeming it to be safe, I slowly strode out and closed the door behind me. Black shifted on the bed, sitting up lazily.

"There you are," he grunted. "You took fucking forever."

"I'm so sorry, your Highness," I sniped sarcastically. "But I happen to be a girl, and I happen to _like_ maintaining my personal hygiene, thanks."

He growled, stalking forward. I crossed my arms and met his eyes evenly. I was _not_ backing down. "Do you not understand?" He leaned in closer to me, his ruby eye glaring harshly into my blue orbs. "You could die at any moment."

"So can you," I pointed out, leaning back a bit at the close proximity. His breath ghosted over my skin, and I bit my lips. Too close. (Danger alert. Danger alert.)

"This is ridiculous." I shoved him aside and straightened from the wall, feeling chagrined at how much he managed to distract me. "Besides - I'm not tired anymore. Thanks for the hospitality, but I'm leaving."

I wrestled open the door and stepped into the stone halls. Black shouted something that I didn't here, so I decided to ignore it. The prison was dank and chilly, and I shivered. I was not going back. I wanted to check the Amusement Park.

The hallway stretched on, and I rushed past countless doors, randomly choosing paths when the corridor split into crossroads. Finally I managed to exit through a bright red door into the warm sunlight.

What? I thought the (House? Room? Eh.) was in the prison realm, not the circus. I turned around sharply but the door had disappeared.

Okay… A dream, this was all a dream…

I strode around, finally recognizing the main tent already set up. I headed towards it, noticing the familiar jester hat.

"White!" I jogged forwards towards the little table set up outside the tent. A pack of cards, which he was shuffling, lay on the tabletop. "There you are - I'm sorry for being rude, but can I leave the circus now? I mean, I kind of wanted to check out the amusement park -"

" _There you are, you fucking slut!_ " I jumped at the voice, glancing around. As far as I could see, Black wasn't here, so where did the voice come from…?

"Ah, please be quiet, Joker," White scolded, placing a hand on his mask. My eyes fell on the mask, which looked like a theatre mask. My mind raced. So they could talk through the mask…

"Ugh, this makes things complicated," I murmured out loud. Then, clearing my throat, I said, "Thanks for the hospitality, but I'm -"

"-Leaving, yes," White finished. "Which territory do you want to visit?"

"Uh…" I thought about the territories Gowland told me about. While I did want to check on the Amusement Park, I wasn't sure if it was safe to, so that was out. Definitely not the Mafia - I'm sorry, I just didn't want to die. Ace was in Hearts Castle, so not there either. That left the Tower of Clover, which sounded like the only relatively safe option.

"Tower of Clover?" I suggested.

"Because you're an Outsider, every time you want me to change the season, you must play a game of cards and beat me. Otherwise, you can't leave." White explained, setting up the cards. "Alice - the other Outsider - was just here."

"There's another foreigner?" I gaped. "Her name is Alice? As in, Alice in Wonderland?"

" _What about it?"_ Black demanded. " _Find it funny, huh? Well, hate to break it to you, but your name isn't exactly-"_

"No, not that." I tried to keep a straight face. My brain really isn't original. _Alice in Wonderland_ , really? Still, I made a mental note to find Alice as soon as possible, then complain about how crazy Wonderland is.

" _What do you want to play, bitch?"_ Blank interjected. " _I have to warn you, you'll fail every game."_

I smirked at the mask. "You want to try me?" I challenged.

The mask fell silent. I grinned victoriously. "Can we play Speed?"

"Speed?" White tilted his head quizzically. "I haven't heard of that before."

"Oh." I deflated. "Then what about President?"

Again, White shook his head.

Argh, what the fuck? How could Wonderland NOT know about the two best card games ever? I mentally slammed my head against the table. If this was _my_ dream, then why didn't they know?

"Blackjack, then," I suggested in a defeated tone. I wasn't expecting them to know the game, but to my surprise, White dealt out the cards, giving me two.

I took a peek at my cards. An Ace and a Queen. I kept my face neutral. "Hold."

White took a hit, then placed his cards down. "Bust," he announced.

I sighed. "That wasn't much of a challenge," I commented, placing down my cards. _21,_ they added up to.

" _What the fuck? You cheated!"_

"I didn't!" I claimed, crossing my hands over my chest angrily. "You're just upset because you lost!"

White shushed his counterpart by placing a hand back on the mask, successfully muffling his complaints. He snapped his fingers, and all of a sudden the air changed. A chilly wind swept across the circus, and the trees were now covered in snow.

So the Tower of Clover was winter. Amusement Park was summer, so the Hearts Castle and the Mafia were spring and fall, I guessed.

"And, complimentary of the circus…" White clapped his hands twice, and my outfit changed.

Now I was wearing a thick winter coat that went down to my knees, trimmed with white fur. The inside was lined with soft fur, and the whole coat was a light pink. My shoes changed to snow boots, and a soft hat materialized on my head. My hands were covered with white wooly mittens.

"Wow!" I beamed, spinning around and admired myself. "Thanks!" I waved at him before hurrying out of the circus.

White watched me leave, before a smirk crossed his face. "Such a strange girl."

" _Fucking Outsiders,"_ Black agreed.


	8. Clover Tower? (I hate green)

**Chapter Seven**

 _Clock Tower? Or Clover Tower?_

It was decided. She hated winter.

Alice shivered, burrowing into her furry jacket. She'd just come from the Castle, spending tea time with Vivaldi, before heading down to Joker's Circus. She'd wanted desperately to check on the Park, but Julius had forbid her from going yet - she'd find out soon, anyway, if they were all okay.

Her thin jacket wasn't enough to keep her warm, but Alice fought down any complaints. Vivaldi had insisted that she'd wear it, and the coat was beautiful - expensive, too - but just not that suitable for winter.

It was bad enough that she felt self-conscious in the jacket, but the jacket did nothing to block the cold.

Joker had been acting rather strange when she visited. Black had stayed silent, although occasionally she heard snippets of swear words and angry ranting, as though he was talking to someone. White's eyes had shifted around constantly, alternating between looking contemplative and looking amused. At what, she didn't know.

Another wind swept across the land, and Alice clutched the coat tighter, remind herself that the tower was close. The idea of warmth and fire was enough motivation, and she surged forward, hands over her face to protect herself from the snow, which was bombarding her in all directions.

 _Almost there…!_ Alice could already see the glowing outline of the Tower coming up in the distance. Just a few more yards, and she'd be there.

She reached the gates and quickly opened them. The warmth enveloped her, and she let out a relieved sigh, taking her hat off and shaking the snow out. A Faceless servant - Rose, she remembered - took her jacket and hung it on a nearby coat rack.

"Welcome back, Alice~!" chirped Rose cheerfully. "Are you here to see Nightmare? He's a little busy at the moment, but you can wait~. It shouldn't take long."

"No, it's fine, I can wait," Alice reassured. She stood there awkwardly as Rose bustled off with Mark (her partner, if Alice recalled correctly), heading up the stairwell. She could always visit Julius, but there was a chance that Ace would be hanging around, so that was a no.

The door behind her was suddenly kicked open, and Alice yelped, falling to her knees. There

were cries of "Miss Alice!" from the Faceless, and one of them helped her to her feet.

"Am I here?" An unfamiliar voice asked.

Alice swiveled to look at the door and discerned a pink figure, dressed in a pink coat and a hat on her head. What made it astonishing were the blue eyes that showed proof of her status as an Outsider.

Then the figure noticed her. Her eyes lit up excitedly and she rushed over. "Oh my god, you must be Alice!" gushed the stranger. "I'm so sorry for almost knocking you over - the door was a bit stuck."

"No problem," Alice muttered under her breath before staring at the girl. Unlike herself, who had a british accent, the teenager sounded American. "Uh, yes, I'm Alice. Are you an Outsider?" She added eagerly.

It would be great if she was a fellow foreigner, Alice thought. She hadn't had contact with the Outside World for _years_ \- honestly, she wanted to talk to someone sane. Briefly, she wondered how the stranger got here, considering she seemed to know a lot about this world already. Did Peter kidnap her? Where did she first land? (Obviously not the Tower of Clover.)

"Right." The Outsider laughed sheepishly. "I'm Emma Nightshade. I'm an Outsider, too. I just got here about four time periods ago?"

Alice drew in a sharp breath. Four time periods ago… That was when the Faceless attack on the Amusement Park had occurred. Maybe Emma had something to do with it?

She grabbed Emma's shoulders forcefully, who looked a little stunned. "Were you there when the Amusement Park was attacked?" she demanded fiercely.

xXx

"I - yes?" I stuttered, taken aback. Her grip on my shoulders tightened, and she paled. Why? I don't understand. Why was Alice so upset? "Uh, can you let go of me?" It wasn't painful yet, but it was definitely uncomfortable.

Alice ignored it. "Are Boris, Pierce, and Gowland okay? What happened to the park?"

"I - I don't know! They left me in the forest -" My face was paling rapidly. "Get your hands off my shoulders!" Panic was rising up as her fingers dug into my shoulder. _Fear._ I was _scared_. Of Alice. That should've been something to joke about - what could Alice do? But the expression on her face… Her azure eyes bore into mine with an intense stare, and I fought all instincts telling me to _fight her off and run_. I didn't want to hurt her.

Alice's eyes widened, as if she just realized what she was doing. She quickly took her hands off, mumbling, "I'm sorry. I got a little overwhelmed."

I shook my head, snow falling off my head at the sudden movement. "No, it's fine. I understand you're worried." Still, I gingerly touched my shoulders, flinching as they burned. Ugh, definitely bruised. Not that I blamed Alice for it…

"Are you here to see Nightmare?" Alice asked curiously, tilting her head to the side. Nightmare? I delved into my brain, searching for where I had last heard that name. Oh - Gowland mentioned it…

"Um, I think so." I traced a pattern on the green walls, the wall smooth under my fingers. The Tower of Clover was, no doubt, an alluring place to be. "I came from Joker's circus -"

Alice grimaced at 'Joker'. I frowned. What was so bad about Joker? He seemed nice enough when I visited… (Well, Black didn't really do anything bad, so…)

"-and he asked where I wanted to go. Since I don't like mafia, and nay for castle, I decided, what the fuck, let's just go to the tower of clover and hope something happens." I finished.

"You'll have to wait, then." Alice sighed. "He's a little busy at the moment, the faceless won't tell me what's going on-"

"Alice~!" The same faceless I had seen earlier talking to Alice rounded the corner. She grinned when she saw me. "Ooh, another Outsider! Nice, Boss will love it! You guys can enter his room now - Boss had a little problem, so Gray sorted him out pretty quick. Come right up~!"

"Ooh!" I clapped her hands in anticipation. I couldn't wait to see what the Tower of Clover was like. What was Nightmare like? I wondered. His name sounded scary, but Alice seemed fine. So he probably wasn't that scary… "Yes! Let's go. I'm Emma, by the way."

Alice smiled at the Faceless before leading me up a staircase, which the I took two at a time. With each (skipped) step, I felt even more excited.

"We're here~!" The Faceless trilled, and I noticed Alice blink, as if just realizing it. What was she thinking about?

The faceless attendant knocked on the door. A minute later, I heard someone call us in.

I entered first. As I properly took in the room, my jaw fell open. From the outside, the room didn't look like much - just another door in a hallway of doors - but the inside was pretty phenomenal.

The windows took up most of the space on the wall, revealing beautiful scenery of snow and dead tree branches. The fireplace crackled, the orange and gold flames dancing in the grate and warming the room. The only piece of furniture - a desk - was made of mahogany wood, and as usual it was covered in stacks of paperwork.

Leaning over it, a Roleholder stood, blue hair rumpled and exasperated. Sitting on the actual desk was who I guessed was Nightmare. He was… not what I expected. Not scary, but there was a strange vibe coming from him. He had gray hair that seemed more purple than gray that fell to his jaw, and his eyes were a light gray. Not to mention the eyepatch. What was he, a pirate?

Nightmare opened his mouth, but then his eyes found me. His own face paled, and his mouth opened and closed wordlessly. I gritted my teeth in anger. What was it about me that set them off so much? Why did they look so unnerved?

Alice looked confused glancing back between me to Nightmare and the other Roleholder, whose name I had yet to find out. Ugh. I _hated_ the thick atmosphere. Fine. So I spoke first, trying to defuse the tension in the room.

"I'm Emma Nightshade, the Outsider, yes, I understand, it's a big deal, whatever. I'm here because I followed Alice. Hello."

Alice giggled. Seizing the opportunity to speak, she added, "Hello, Nightmare! Hope I'm not interrupting something."

"Oh, no, it's fine," the other Roleholder (who I shall now call Lizard, because of his tattoo) replied, smiling pleasantly. His previously darkened expression had brightened considerably, and again I wondered why they looked so disconcerted at my appearance. "Nightmare just finished his work."

"Really?" Alice stared at Nightmare in disbelief. "Are you sure?"

"Hey!" Nightmare jumped up indignantly. "I could do my work! I'm an important - _hrrk!_ " His rant was interrupted as he coughed up blood, and the brunette smirked.

"Woah." Part of me felt a little disgusted at the blood, but another part of me felt a little worried for Nightmare. I mean, let's be honest: coughing up blood isn't a normal occurrence… At least, I think so. "I think you need to visit the hospital, guy-whose-name-I-don't-know-but-actually- know-is-Nightmare-but-I'm-pretending-not-to-know-in-order-not-to-sound-like-a-stalker."

"No! I hate hospitals! The medicine tastes horrible! And the nurses stick needles into you! I refuse! I'm an important person! I need to be respected more!" He stomped his feet.

"Of course, sir," Lizard agreed dutifully, but he sounded a bit exasperated if anything else."Important enough that I'd worry if anything happened to you. After all, you _don't take your medicine._ "

"I don't know," I pondered. Hospitals back home were always the worst. I hated the white walls, the smell of antibiotics, and the tension in the air. All in all, not the best place to visit. "Nightmare's got a point. Needles are, like, the _bane_ of existence. And the medicine does taste pretty shitty. I don't know about you guys, but I _hated_ hospitals."

"Exactly!" Nightmare nodded. "Gray, hear that?"

"Loud and clear," Lizard (who I now knew is Gray) responded dryly. He cleared his throat meaningfully. "I'm sure our guests didn't come all this way to listen to this - Alice probably had something to say."

Alice, recognising her cue, spoke up. "Nightmare, is the Amusement Park alright?"

Nightmare fell silent, trading looks with Gray. I felt uneasy at the strange look on Nightmare's face and crossed my fingers, hardly daring to breathe. Why was I so nervous anyway? It's a dream. It's not like Gowland or Boris or Pierce would actually be hurt… This wasn't actually happening… Right…?

"For the time being, it's relatively okay," Nightmare finally answered. I released a sigh of relief. Okay. Good. They're still alive. "But…" (My heart leapt into my throat.)

"It's hard to say. The Faceless were merciless this time, and the Park wasn't prepared. While the Roleholders may be okay, the Park may not. Some damages even time changes can't fix." Gray slipped in smoothly.

"What'll happen then?" Alice whispered, sounding anxious.

"We'll rebuild what we could, then continue like always. The Faceless must be tracked down, of course, but the Park takes priority." Nightmare heaved a sigh. "The Faceless are getting stronger, that's for sure."

The way he said it made it sound so… hopeless. Like the situation was final, and there was nothing we could do. Also, Faceless rebellion… Why would the Faceless rebel? Although I haven't been in this world long enough, so maybe that's why I didn't know.

"Why are the Faceless rebelling?" I demanded, frowning uneasily.

The trio fell silent, trading glances. I felt frustration well up inside of me. I hated not knowing anything. God dammit.

"Well…" Nightmare broke the pause. "They, uh, kinda…"

"They feel repressed," Alice sighed. She gave the two Roleholders a glowering look. "Because Faceless don't have roles, they're not treated as important. Most Roleholders can't even tell them apart. They're killed almost everyday by uncaring Roleholders. I always told you guys that you should be careful with how you treat them. See what happened now?"

If I were in the Faceless' place, I would rebel too. To be killed everyday… That was horrible. They might not have 'Roles' but they were human, too! They were living! So why… why would people kill anyone?

…Just what kind of world did I land in…?

"Oh." I stared down at the shiny top of the table. _No wonder this world was so chaotic._ "So they'll keep fighting back? How many Roleholders are there, anyway?"

"Fifteen total. In this country, at least." Gray ran a hand through his hair, leaving his already messy hair rumpled and sticking up. "The faceless outnumber us by far."

"Well, that sucks. Sorry, Roleholders, but you're basically screwed. Just let me find a bunker or something to hide in while you guys fight it out." I nodded meaningfully.

(Actually, I didn't say that. I wanted to, so much. But I figured that would be rude.)

So, instead, I said, "Do you guys have any information on the Faceless attacks? Ideas? Anything to help you?"

"Of course we do!" Nightmare crossed his arms indignantly. "Well, somewhat," he added after a moment.

"...Not much," the roleholder finally admitted, slumping against his desk top. "Just what I pick up in my tower and what the mafia knows. It's not enough."

'Pick up'? How does he 'pick up' information? I imagined him walking down the hallway and picking up a piece of paper with all the information on it and stifled a snicker.

"What do you mean, 'pick up'?" I wondered.

"Lord Nightmare is an incubus," Gray responded. He smiled a little. "A dream demon. In essentiality, he is a dream. He can read minds, among other things."

 _Wait, what?_ And Alice didn't think of telling me this?

"I know it's hard to believe, but it's true. He can read minds. And, uh, sometimes he slips into your dreams (to escape work, she mumbled), so just warning you." Alice, as if sensing my thoughts, laughed nervously.

"I -" I gaped at them wordlessly. "Hold on…" I rubbed my temples and groaned mentally. Too much information in one day. Telepathy, huh… Well, it's certainly not the _weirdest_ thing.

"Wait. Can you read my mind?" I narrowed my eyes at him. Nightmare pondered the question, frowning unneasily.

"Well, no…" He admitted, looking disturbed at the information. "Normally, it doesn't take much effort to listen in - in fact, I can't _not_ overhear your thoughts. Unless you're someone like Gray, who's mind is strong enough to repel me." Nightmare scowled at Gray, who shrugged.

"But you…" Nightmare got out of his seat and walked towards me. I frowned, wondering what he was about to do, when he pushed his forehead against mine. I jerked backwards, but he kept his head against mine. Wh- what is he doing? He was too close…!

"What are you -" I squeaked, but then the incubus (I think that's what Gray called him) leaned back, looking frustrated.

"I don't understand!" He groaned, pouting childishly. "I can almost _hear_ it, but it's just - it's like that pesky voice in the back of your head that you can't hear! Urgh - _hrrk!_ "

I flinched away from the stream of blood that bubbled up. Gray leaned over and wiped the blood away with a handkerchief.

"Does that mean there's something wrong with me?" I inquired uneasily.

"Of course not!" Nightmare said hastily, raising his head to look at me. "I'm serious! It's nothing wrong, it could just mean your mind is really strong."

…But why did he look so disturbed? _Please don't be lying_. I hated liars, and people who patronized you like you were a little kid. " _Oh, of course not! It's going to be okay!"_ and then it turns out that no, it's not okay.

"I hate dreams," I grumbled, sighing wearily.

Alice perked up, and she frowned at me. "Even the good ones?"

"Especially those." Good dreams were worse than nightmares, because once you opened your eyes, they disappeared. No matter how good the dream may be, they were the worst kind, because they lied to your face, made you think that everything was okay. Then you opened your eyes, and it's gone. "Because once you wake up, they're gone."

"Huh." Alice tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I've never thought of it that way."

Gray cleared his throat. "If you don't mind, Nightmare really needs to work… And, I'm sorry to say this, but you'll only distract him."

"Oh! Of course!" Alice nodded frantically, grabbing my arm and pulling me out. She closed the door behind me, smiling sheepishly. "He doesn't really do any work," she whispered conspiratorially to me.

I snorted. "Lord of the Tower, and he can't even handle paperwork?" How would that work out? At least he had Gray to keep things from getting out of hand. Otherwise I'm fairly certain Clover Tower would've burnt down already.

"Anyway." Alice clapped her hands excitedly. "Since you're new to Wonderland, I'm going to show you Julius!"

xXx

As soon as the door clicked shut, Nightmare slumped against his desk. It was all he could do to keep calm while facing Emma. The eyes, the face - ( _The face_ ) - and even the way she spoke and carried herself… Oh, god. It was exactly the same.

Gray stood grimly beside the desk. "It's the same, isn't it?" he murmured quietly.

"Exactly." The incubus rubbed his temples wearily. "I don't understand how it's possible. She was destroyed years ago, and now she's back - and, what as an Outsider? It's not possible. I _felt_ the Role disappearing."

"It's Wonderland." his subordinate spoke softly.

Nightmare blew a strand of hair out of his face, longing to escape into the dream world. It was much easier than staying here.

Still…

Why did she have to come back _now?_


	9. I Swear He's A Girl

**Chapter Eight**

 _I swear he's a girl._

"Success!" The Faceless smirked as he walked through the manor. Behind him, the other Faceless followed, carrying a large package in between them. Oh, boss was going to be so pleased today. The explosions were so wonderful…

"You're back already?" A sugary sweet voice piped up from in front of them. Immediately, the faceless man dropped to his knees and bowed his head respectfully. Ahhh, his beautiful boss.. "Did you bring me presents?"

He smirked, getting up to his feet and grabbing the package out of the hands of another Faceless and displayed it to her. "Did I ever, boss! We managed a good catch today!"

"Hmm? What's in there?" The faceless lady stood up from her perch and walked closer, drawn by curiosity.

"You know the saying, 'curiosity killed the cat'?" The Faceless man carefully undid the drawstrings of the package and dropped the person inside onto the ground. The faceless behind him cowered and whispered amongst themselves. Even tied up and unconscious, a Roleholder was feared.

"Hm." the Boss observed the Roleholder with a smirk playing around the edges of her mouth. "This one would do nicely. Yes, good job."

The Roleholder had been a hard catch, and they'd lost many men facing him. But in the end, they'd done it, and now, lying on the floor, eyes closed… They caught him, finally.

The cheshire cat.

xXx

Julius, I quickly decided, looked like a girl.

(No. Not just looked like a girl, _acted_ like a girl, too.)

Especially when he got mad, which was about every five seconds.

"Hey, what's this?" I prodded a springy wire that was falling out of the clock Julius was repairing. (He was a clockmaker, apparently. Which sounded like a stupid role, in retrospect, but when I looked at how many clocks he had to repair… Damn, why were there so many clocks anyway?)

Julius twitched irritatedly, shoving my finger aside for the fifteenth time. "Don't touch that."

"And this?" I ran my hands down a small tiny gear about the size of my pinky, feeling the rough metal under my fingers.

"Leave me alone," groaned Julius. He glared at me before pushing me away from his desk. "Do something else. Go bother Nightmare and Gray."

"But they kicked us out," I whined. I smirked inwardly. Teasing Julius was so fun. He got worked up over the simplest things.

"Are you guys arguing again?" Alice walked into the room, carrying three mugs of steaming coffee. She set the cups down on the clockmaker's desk, handing a mug to Julius. She turned to me and placed her hands on her hips. "You shouldn't bother Julius."

I stuck out my tongue. "I'm not. I'm just asking him about the clocks -"

"You mean, interrupting my work -"

"- I did not! I'm just curious, come on -"

"-Not to mention you keep _dropping the clocks on the floor_!"

"Hey, that was only once!" I protested, crossing my arms stubbornly. "And it wasn't even my fault! You - you startled me!"

"I was right in front of you! It's not my fault you're incredibly blind! All I did was tell you to put it down!"

"Please - you were hiding behind that shelf! Then you stepped out and then yelled at me; of course I jumped! And it's not my fault the clock broke!"

Alice giggled, and both me and Julius turned to face her. "What's so funny?" We chorused. I glared at him angrily.

"Stop copying me!"

" _Me_ copying _you_? More like you copying me!" Julius retorted.

"Are you accusing me of being dumb?"

"What - How did you even draw that conclusion in the first place?!"

"Okay, enough is enough," Alice cleared her throat meaningfully. I fell silent, not wanting to get scolded by Alice. Besides, I'd made my point - I was an insane and stubborn woman whose sole goal in life is to harass Julius.

Julius scowled, crossing his arms. "Why are you guys bothering me? I have work."

Alice drew up a chair beside his desk and sat down. "All you do is work. If I wasn't here, you'd forget to eat."

I observed them for a while, tilting my head quizzically. Such a strange pair, and yet…

"I only need coffee," was the reply from the clockmaker. _Oh fuck no._

My mouth fell open and I choked out a "What?!"

"How could you survive only on coffee? Forget that, how could you even drink coffee? It's literally the worst invention humans could have made!"

Alice frowned. "What would you prefer?" She asked.

"Coke. Or, heck, even water is better than coffee. Wait - do you guys have maple syrup?" I placed my hands on my hips and waited.

"…" Julius gave me a look before going back to his clock, attempting to ignore me. (Please. You can't ignore me. You won't. I swear it.)

"Uh, I don't think so." Tilting her head, Alice adopted a curious expression. "What's maple syrup?"

 _Wait. Did I hear what she just said?!_ 'What's maple syrup'? Oh, nothing, I wanted to say sassily, it's just the best invention in the whole world that tastes like heaven and looks like it too. It's the only working way of making you feel happy.

"Maple syrup," I stressed each syllable, giving Alice a look. "Is _heaven on earth._ It is the best thing you have ever known or tasted. _You can't tell me that you don't have it here?_ "

"Enough." Julius cut in, giving us both a glare. (He loves me. I knew it.) "I can't work with you guys in here. Out." He gestured at the door.

Woah, he's really nice.

I crossed my arms and pouted. "But I don't want to," I mumbled. I let my shoulders sag and my bangs cover my eyes as I fell into a bout of depression before glancing up at him tearfully.

"I won't bother you, I promise! So, can I please stay?" I asked timidly and earnestly, staring up at Julius with big, teary, blue, eyes.

Alice's mouth fell open in surprise. Julius stared at me, looking stunned. He inhaled, then exhaled. Was it just me, or was there a faint tinge of pink on his cheeks?

Wait for it… One, two, three…

"Fine, you can stay," Julius mumbled. I smirked inwardly in triumph. Another win for Joyce! No one can resist the puppy dog eyes!

"Yes!" I cheered, pumping my fist in the air before pulling Julius in for a hug. "FUCK YES! YOU LOVE ME, I KNEW IT!"

"I - hey! Get off me!" Julius wrestled me off of him, and I complied, allowing myself to be tossed onto the floor not-so-gently.

"Julius!" Thankfully, Alice was kind enough to help me up. She glared at the clockmaker. "Be careful with her!"

Julius 'hmphed' and ignored us, turning back to his clocks. I scowled and turned away. Julius is so mean. Fine - I'll ignore him! See how he feels!

…

…I'm bored…

After about literally five seconds, I decided that facing the wall was not fun. Especially when said wall happened to be the boring-est colour of all: cream. And when said wall had nothing cool on it.

So, I went back to my life goal (which I found just ten minutes ago): Harassing Julius!

"Julie~!" I chanted, prancing around the clockmaker. Ignoring his irritated grunt at being recognized, I continued. "Julie, Julie, he's the clockmaker~! Irritate him and he'll throw you out! La la la la la la la, something something that rhymes with clockmaker (like baker)! Blah blah blah blah, dot-dot-dot-slash-dot-com something that rhymes with out (like shout)!"

I watched as Julius attempted to ignore me. Haha. I told you, you can't ignore me. _He can try._ But I'll win. I'll always win at being annoying.

"Heyyy, Julie~!" I poked his cheek. He flinched away from my touch, scowling. I frowned and withdrew my hand before thinking. What (to Julius) would be the worst offense…?

I opened my mouth to say something obnoxious, like, ' _Julie, did you know that the average hermit gets about 0.2% of sunshine per year? It's true!'_ when the door burst open.

(My brain squeaked something like, ' _Eeek! Run!'_ , and I was like, ' _OMG BREAKING IN AND ENTERING - CALL 9-1-1!'_ )

A man with brown hair and crimson eyes strolled in, looking pleased with himself. He carried a bag of… well, something. (Drugs? Maybe.) "Julius~! I'm back~!" He had a rich sort of tone, like he was contemplating murder while smiling cheerfully. (That, I decided, was a terrible simile. _Erase it from your mind._ )

Alice yelped at the sudden intrusion and nearly dropped her coffee mug. "Ace! Don't do that!" Pressing a hand against her chest, she breathed a sigh of relief. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"What did I do?" (Ace, I think) He grinned, dropping the bag of drugs against Julius' desk with a heavy _thunk._ "Ooh, what's a heart attack? Does it make your heart beat faster? Can I listen?"

( _I'm sorry, what?_ Uh, no, listen to your own heart, pervert. Don't harass Alice!)

I opened my mouth to tell him exactly that, but I was interrupted _again. Goddammit, let me speak you fucktards!_

"No! Go away!" Scowling in irritation, Alice got up from her seat beside Julius' desk and marched up towards Ace. They bickered back and forth (rather, Alice reprimanding Ace while he laughed innocently), and I inched towards the clockmaker, who was now gripping his wrench rather dangerously.

"Are they always like this?" I observed the duo as Alice waved her hands angrily, before brandishing a wrench at him (when did she pick that up?).

"Always." Julius growled dangerously, and he clenched his hands tighter around his wrench, turning white as the wrench dug into his palm. "I should throw them both out -"

"JULIUS!" Both of them shouted abruptly. I jumped and scuttled under the desk for hiding. So far, Ace hasn't noticed me, and that's how I'd like to stay.

"What is it?" Julius' voice drifted towards me, and I craned my neck, trying to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Who do you like better?" Alice demanded fiercely. I stifled a giggle when I heard Julius splutter in confusion, stammering out his incoherent replies.

"It's me, right? We've been best buddies since we were little!" Ace declared.

"What? No! You're annoying and rude and loud! I bet it's me!"

"Wha-wait! I didn't even say anything yet-!" protested Julius.

I sighed. Stupid tsundere. _Confess your feelings… CONFESS… CONFESS…_

Julius' leg kicked me in the arm and I hurriedly muffled the resulting cry with my sleeve. Alice and Ace fell silent, and I counted to ten, silently praying they didn't hear me. Also, I may or may not have been plotting a murder. What - no, I'm not insane.

 _One…_

"Did you hear something?" asked Alice suspiciously. There was a muffled noise, like she was shuffling something around. "What was that?"

 _Two…_

"It was -" Julius started, probably going to rat me out (traitor), but, thinking quickly, I grabbed his pant leg and tugged on it. _Don't you dare tell them!_

 _Three…_

"-nothing," finished Julius, sounding a little strained. I released him and breathed a tiny sigh of relief. There. I was safe… Ish.

 _Four…_

"Hey, wait a minute, where's Emma?" Alice questioned. She heaved a sigh. "If you kicked her out, Julius…"

 _Five…_

"I didn't!"

 _Six…_

"Ooh! We're searching for Emma? Great! I think I saw her over there! … Who's Emma?" (I facepalmed. Ace was, I decided, really stupid.)

 _Seven…_

Julius stood up and backed away from his desk. How could I tell? Well, the fact that his legs suddenly vanished from under the desk was a big hint. (Either he moved, or he turned invisible. You pick.)

 _Eight…_

I heard some muffled whispering and leaned forward, straining to listen in on their conversations. My eyes narrowed. Don't tell me that Julius was going to rat me out…

 _Nine…_

Why did I decide to hide under a desk again? Why did I think that was a good idea? Now, even if they do find me (and I doubt they wouldn't), I'd look like a total idiot, hiding under the desk.

 _Ten!_

"Emma?" Alice bent down and peered under the desk. She frowned at me, looking confused and disapproving. "Why are you hiding under there?"

I tucked myself further against the wall and stayed silent. _Camouflage mode… on._

"Uh, I can see you," Alice deadpanned. She sighed, reaching down and holding a hand out. "Come on, let's meet Ace. Plus, you look ridiculous."

I finally complied to her request, pouting extremely maturely, accepting her hand and allowing her to pull me out. Unfortunately, I didn't account for how hard she would pull, which meant I basically rolled right into her, bowling her over.

This resulted in a very awkward position, where our legs were tangled and I was fairly certain her elbow was against my ear. (Elbow or knee. Something knobby, at least.) We probably looked fairly ridiculous.

As you can see, I'm very good at first impressions. Ace stared at us, his crimson eyes giving nothing away.

"What," Julius deadpanned, sighing exasperatedly, "Are you guys doing?"

Flushing, Alice managed to untangle herself by rolling over, and stood up. Her bow was now slightly askew on her blonde head, but other than that her clothes seemed fine. "Uh, nothing."

I stood up as well, brushing dust off the coat Joker gave me. "We were practicing yoga?" I offered.

The minute I stood up, Ace's eyes flashed over to mine. I waited for him to say something, or make that holy-shit-I-just-saw-a-ghost face Nightmare, Gray, Gowland, and Boris had made.

Instead, he _whipped out a fucking sword_ and lunged at me.


	10. The Land of psychotic Axe-murderers

**Chapter Nine**

 _Wonderland, the Land of Psychopathic Axe-Murderers_

The room is a flurry of noise.

Boris stared drowsily around him, not fully understanding what was happening. He was lying down on something cold - stone, maybe? The floor? How had that happened?

He tried to stand up, but something restrained him. Turning his head, he eyed the shackles on his arms and legs.

…What happened? Why was he here? Why was he - and he noticed this with mounting panic - strapped to what looked like an operation table? Where was his gun? Also, why was he naked?

Boris gritted his teeth in frustration, the shackles keeping him from moving. This was bad. Very bad. The last thing he remembered was some kind of drug being released into the air, and trying to warn Gowland, but his body had felt so heavy, and he couldn't move…

His stomach churned uneasily. Did that mean the Faceless caught him?

 _This was bad. This was really, really, bad._

The door opened, and his head shot into the air. Boris looked around, straining to identify the faceless man who walked in, wearing what looked like a white lab coat.

The man was muttering to himself, "Three more days, she says, three more days - I say, that woman will drive me crazy. I don't have five days, much less _three._ That bitch."

Then the man noticed Boris. "Oh, you're awake," he said unenthusiastically. He walked closer. Boris resisted the urge to snarl at him, settling for clenching his fist.

Pulling out a flashlight, the faceless peeled back his eyelids. This time, Boris snarled at him, a low, deep sound burbling up in his throat. Animal instinct.

"Hey, stop that," chided the man. He placed the flashlight back into his coat pocket and heaved a dramatic sigh. He grabbed a vial of clear liquid, which Boris eyed uneasily. Fear pooled in his stomach as the man approached.

"H- hey, what are you - no! Stop - Argh!"

xXx

In the movies, when the villain lunges at the heroine with a sword, the heroine miraculously pulls out her own moves and defeats him, all while managing to look impeccable.

Unfortunately, movies are a load of shit. So, it didn't really go like that.

When Ace first lunged at me, my brain kind of disconnected from my body, leaving me feeling weightless. _Oh, yeah, by the way, Emma, you're going to die. Have fun!_

Thanks a lot, brain. Some help you were.

Back to what I was saying: Ace lunged at me. With a fucking sword. A beautiful sword, yes, but nonetheless: _he lunged at me with a fucking sword._

I cleverly escaped by falling on my butt. He passed over my head, the sword ramming into the wall just inches above my head.

"Eep," I articulated, eyes wide. If that sword went a few inches lower, and if I hadn't reacted in time… I swallowed. I did not want to die. Not now, not today, not ever.

"Hey, you can't do that!" Ace pouted, his crimson eyes still gleaming dangerously. His tone was playful, despite the fact that he just tried to kill me.

Insane. This guy was insane.

I snuck a glance at Alice and Julius, who were staring wide-eyed with shock. _Help me!_ I glared at them.

Alice recovered from her shock first, and she shouted, her voice trembling with fear, "Ace, stop it! You're going to hurt her!"

"It's fine! We're just training!" Ace reassured them, which actually wasn't very reassuring. He tugged on the hilt of his sword, and this time he pulled it out of the wall, leaving a crater about three inches wide. "Aww, I chipped my sword!"

He lifted it up again, grinning cheerfully. "Let's try again. I won't miss this time!"

When he slashed the sword downward, towards my still form, I thought quickly. This time, instead of standing there stupidly, I rolled to the side. The sword skimmed over me, cutting the fabric of my coat, just barely missing my skin by millimetres.

My blood ran cold. _He almost hit me._ He's actually trying to kill me. Oh, god…

"Dammit! Stop moving!" The brunette scolded lightly, tapping the flat end of his blade against his hand lightly. "It's no fun if you're not fighting back!"

"Ace!" Julius' voice, authoritative and dark, cut through Ace's villainous monologue. "That's enough. _Sheathe the sword._ "

I internally breathed a sigh of relief. _My saviour._ I crawled out from my position and stood up, albeit a little shakily. Alice rushed over, examining the cut on my coat. "Are you okay?" She murmured, clasping my hands in hers.

"Fine," I managed, giving her a shaky smile. My brain was still not in my body, so my processing was a little slow. Ah, but my coat was damaged… Dammit, and it'd been a present from Joker, too…

"I'll take you shopping," Alice decided. She turned to face Julius, who was busy reprimanding Ace (who in turn was laughing sheepishly - the fucking asshole), and called out, "I'm leaving! I'll take her to Heart Castle's stores - they've got better quality."

Julius nodded absentmindedly, still snapping at Ace. Alice rolled her eyes.

"Come on." She tugged me out of the room gently, "let's get you cleaned up."

xXx

Weirdly, as soon as I stepped out of the room, my brain decided to come back, no hint whatsoever.

So I was standing in the hallway, staring blankly at the bland walls, trying to process what had just happened… And _bam!_ My brain started working.

This meant I went into a 'confusion-what-the-hell-just-happened' mode, normally reserved for when I passed out late at night or when I found myself in an unusual situation. This was the latter.

"Ace!" I exclaimed suddenly. Alice jumped at the random exclamation, then glanced over at me in confusion.

"Uh, what about Ace?"

"He tried to kill me! With a sword! And he almost did! Is that- is that legal here? Where the fuck is the police? How is he a Roleholder? He's insane!" I rambled, spilling all of my questions and anger into my voice.

Alice sighed, opening the front door of the Clock Tower. Almost immediately, a gust of cool wind blew by and we shivered in unison.

"It happens almost all the time in Wonderland," she said mournfully. "You get used to it, I guess. Ace is the Heart Castle's Knight, but he spends most of his time with Julius and the Clock Tower."

Ace, the knight? Oh god, how has this country not burned down yet? This was a disaster.

"Urghh." I resisted the urge to fall down into the nearest snowbank and just… never move. Remember, Emma, you are a normal seventeen year old, not a deranged lunatic.

…Okay, I'm not normal at all, but whatever. _Don't freak Alice out._

"I know." Running a hand through her hair and adjusting a bow tie, Alice gave a fresh smile, looking happier. "Still, it's nice that there's another Foreigner with me. I hope you don't mind me asking some questions?"

"Of course not." My mind drifted back to Canada, and I couldn't help but smile softly.

I wanted to go back, not stay here. I wanted to go back and have my mom make me a hot chocolate and sit around our fireplace, watching snow pile up on the window sill despite the fact that it was already June (Calgary was weird). I wanted to go back to where Violet would visit every weekend and we'd spend the night debating anime pairings (because _obviously_ AusHun would work more than PruHun, and Prussia belongs to Canada anyway), and in the morning we'd stumble down the stairs and almost die.

Alice reached over and squeezed my shoulder. "Hey, it's not that bad here. The world's a little weird, sure, but everyone here is so nice to me. I'm sure you'll learn to enjoy yourself."

"Yes." The words tasted strange in my mouth, and even to me my voice sounded thick. I swallowed back a lump of emotion. _Why did it feel like I wanted to cry?_ I'm not an emotional person. (Okay, that's a lie. You should've seen me bawl over Hetalia.) But… my chest ached with suppressed emotions. "So, what did you want to ask me about?"

Looking thoughtful, Alice asked, "Where did you live? I came from England, if that's not obvious."

"I could tell from your accent." I grinned, gently bumping my shoulder against hers. She floundered a bit, then regained her balance, rolling her eyes at my childishness. "I come from Canada. Not America. I know, the accents are similar, but I'm 100% Canuck, I assure you."

Alice hummed. "Canada, huh? Is it cold? My aunt went there for Christmas once, and told me it was so cold you had to wear coats inside to prevent yourself from freezing. I've never been there in person, though, so I wouldn't know."

I snickered. Stereotypical assumptions. Although Canada is cold (especially Calgary, where there's like half a month of summer and 11 months of winter), it's not to the extent where it was unbearable. You got used to it, and learned to enjoy it. Besides, the cold wilderness had always been something I admired in our country.

"It's not that cold. It's pretty nice in the winter, too. Sometimes we'd have these big festivals, and my mom would take me to visit. Calgary's pretty urban, but there aren't that many people living there, so it's always quiet." I hummed, remembering my hometown fondly.

She tapped her chin with an index finger. By this time, I hoped she knew where she was going, because I didn't.

(It's not my fault I have no sense of direction… Granted, I could memorize routes pretty quickly, but if you handed me a map, I'd be lost in seconds. My mom used to say fondly that it was the "Emma Paradox".)

"What about family?" Alice suggested. She weaved amongst a Faceless throng and I ducked under an elbow to catch up.

"Just my mom. I never knew my dad. How about you?"

Grimacing, I held onto her for balance as I nearly slipped in a patch of ice. We were going to Joker's Circus, I think. How did I know, you ask? Well, I remembered walking this way to get to the tower of clover.

Ooh, I wonder how Joker's doing. Black's probably as salty as ever and White's probably being a clown. Speaking of which, I need to apologize for ripping their coat they gave me…

"I have… two sisters." I mentally noticed how Alice's breath hitched slightly when she said two. "And… my older sister, Lorina, she's amazing. Kind, beautiful, and everything you'd wish for… And she only cared for us, and sacrificed everything for us. And… I still feel guilty for leaving her alone… She'd worry so much, especially after mom's death… But it's better than I don't burden her."

Ah. Sore topic. I quickly changed the subject. "What about your other sister?"

Alice actually lightened up a lot more, even grinning a little. "Ah, Edith hates me. It's okay; I'm sure she's okay. She's a feisty girl."

"I'm sure she's doing fine," I agreed. We were now past the town, the glittery christmas lights against our backs. Compared to the bright and lively town, the forest seemed dark and foreboding.

"I wanted to talk to you about Wonderland, now that I think of it." Alice looked at me, this time, her turquoise eyes were serious. "Did you drink from the Medicine of Hearts?"

 _Medicine of Hearts?_ What's that? I mean, I don't remember drinking anything…

"Uh…"

"The Medicine of Hearts means you play the 'game'. You have to interact with Roleholders until the vial is full, or you won't be able to go home. Once it's full, you can decide whether or not you want to stay here or go home. I've filled mine already, but I'm not sure how much you have." Alice trailed off, giving me an expectant look.

I fumbled around with replies in my brain, trying to process what she just said. But… I didn't have a vial… Does that mean I wouldn't be able to go home? My heart thumped painfully at that thought. No… I didn't want to stay here forever…!

"And, just saying, as a foreigner, Roleholders will be _very_ attracted to you." Grimacing, Alice sighed. "Most are dangerous, but once you get to know them, they're not so bad."

That made things _so_ much better. Wow. (Can you feel the sarcasm?)

"We're here!" Giving me a grin, Alice pulled me along the path. I stumbled and nearly slipped, but her grip was firm enough that I didn't crack my skull on the ice and die. (That would be bad. Really bad.)

"Welcome back, Miss Alice!" White's familiar voice chirped. I glanced up, spotting the tip of his jester hat as he waved cheerfully. "Oh, and you've brought Emma!"

"Hey, White!" Alice and I chorused. I stared at her in confusion. I thought I came up with the names 'Black' and 'White'? I guess someone else has thought of it too.

"So where are you going this time?" Raising an eyebrow, the redhead played with a deck of cards, absentmindedly shuffling them back and forth. "Spring? Summer? Or autumn?"

I bit my lip and walked forward. "Uh, before we get to that - I may have, um, ruined the jacket and clothes you gave me…"

Guilt pooled into my stomach and I looked down at my shoes. These clothes had been a gift, too…

White surprised me by laughing. "Is that what you're worried about, my dear?" He snapped his fingers, and then my clothes glowed before changing. A white blouse with a pink sweater over it appeared on my body, along with jeans and sneakers. On my head, the flower I always wore appeared.

 _Woah._ Not. fair! I wanted that ability! If that's what it meant to be a Roleholder, then sign me the fuck up.

"Holy shit!" I spun around, admiring the new clothes. _Damn,_ I looked fine. "Thanks! Ahhh, this is so nice!"

"Of course! I hope you like it. Now, for Miss Alice…" With a small smirk, White turned to Alice, who stiffened just a bit. Her eyes became guarded.

… Why was she so scared? What did Joker do to her…?

"I'll be going to Hearts Castle, thank you," she replied curtly. Her eyes darted around the circus nervously.

"Who's going to play me first?" Opening his arms invitingly, White gestured to the seat in front of him.

"I'll play." Carefully, I maneuvered around Alice's stiff form and sat down on the chair. "What are we playing?"

"Blackjack okay for you?" The lone visible eye gleamed deviously.

Ugh. Does he only know Blackjack? Fine, I'll play this time, but next time, no.

"Deal it to me." I opened my palms and received the cards.

From the sidelines, Alice watched nervously. Why did she feel like something bad was going to happen?

xXx

Four time periods, an angry rant on why Blackjack was the "stupidest game ever", a surprise visit from Black, and Alice playing her own card game later, I finally beat White.

" _Yes!_ " I screamed victoriously, waving my cards around to display the perfect _21._ "Ha! I beat you! Finally!"

" _You cheated, you bitch! There's no way you won after thirty nine losses in a row!"_ Black accused from his mask.

"Excuse you, I won through pure talent," I huffed, crossing my arms and placing the cards back onto the table. Stupid Black. He was just jealous of my awesome card-game skills.

(... Okay, so I lost thirty-nine times in a row, but at least I finally won!)

White was gaping rather stupidly at the cards, his eye wide with disbelief. "...How did you - you know what? Never mind." He snapped his fingers, and the snow on the trees disappeared, turning into cherry blossoms.

" _You just suck at this, you fucking bastard!"_

"Please, don't be jealous!" I smirked, still gloating over my recent victory. Ahh, it felt good to rub it in, especially since Black had been taunting me since the beginning. (" _Like you'll win, bitch!")_

" _I'm not fucking jealous! How many fucking times do I have to say it for your puny brain to comprehend-"_

"Shut up," I grumbled, rising from my position. I stretched, feeling my muscles relax. Four time periods was a long time to play cards for. "Anyway, thanks for being patient… I'll leave now."

"No problem," White smiled.

If I were to be entirely serious, I'd say White's smile was always very strange. Why? There was just something off about his smile, and though it looked real, it felt hollow. Fake.

Maybe I'm just really weird.

Shrugging the thought off, I approached Alice, who was snoring against a tree. Her light hair fell against her face, framing the creamy visage and petite features perfectly. With her round eyes closed, the long eyelashes gently fluttering ever so slightly, and her mouth open just a little, she looked like an angel.

So beautiful… Damn, would I ever get to be like that? I looked down at my ratty jeans and the sneakers on my feet and inwardly sighed. Of course not.

Gently, I nudged her shoulder. "Alice, come on, I'm done. We can leave now."

"Nnhh…" Alice stirred, but didn't wake.

"Alice…" I chanted under my breath, shaking her not-so-gently. "Alice~ Time to wake up~!"

"Wait…" Her reply was listless but a lot more coherent this time. Ha - she was waking up. I smirked. Fine. She doesn't want to wake up? I'll make her.

"Do you have any cold water?" I directed this question at Joker, who frowned in confusion.

"Why do you want that?" Regardless, White raised his hand, and a bucket of water appeared in his hands, which he handed to me.

 _What was I going to do with this?_ Well, I was going to wake Alice up. This was me being mean and evil to Alice. I'm such a terrible person. Oh well.

Snickering evilly, I grabbed the corner of the bucket and tipped it onto her head.

Her scream echoed through the forest.


	11. She loves me, she loves me not

**Chapter Ten**

 _She loves me, she loves me not, she loves me, she loves me no-_

* * *

 _ **Test Subject [128]:**_

 _Drug 1:_

Little to no effect.

Took in dosages of 5 mL/ min. Increase dosage (?)

 _Drug 2:_

Subject reacted rather surprisingly, freezing from head to tail.

Add dosage with drug 4  
NOTE: When handling this drug, exercise extreme caution - just a little sniff can cause you to enter a form of paralysis

 _Drug 3:_

Subject was unable to tell the difference between an apple and a pear.

Senses washed away (Increase dosage by 2 mL)

 _Drug 4:_

Subject was unable to use its ability on doors.

* * *

"I'm sorry!"

"No, you're not!"

"I'm really, really, sorry!"

"Just be quiet and walk."

Scratching my head sheepishly, I tried again. "I'm really, really, really sorry, and I won't do it again, promise."

Alice huffed, crossing her arms. She'd changed out of her blue dress, which had been soaking wet, and now sported a turquoise gown Joker had given her. Still, her eyes glared furiously into mine, and I averted my cerulean orbs, feeling a little guilty.

…Just a little.

…Okay, I didn't feel guilty at all.

In my defense, I was helping her wake up!

I just had a little fun along the way. Is that a crime?

But Alice was mad at me… And Alice was my only friend so far… And a mad Alice means no more friends for me.

"I'm really sorry," I mumbled, using my best 'I'm-so-sorry-I-promise-I-won't-do-it-again' tone. I turned pleading eyes onto her, trying to look remorseful. "I won't do it again, promise."

Three… two… one…

Finally, Alice let out a sigh. "It's fine," she mumbled. "Don't do it again."

 _Yes!_ "I won't!" I promised fiercely, beaming widely and throwing my arms around her.

"Hey! I don't entirely forgive you!" Alice pried my limbs off her dress, and crossed her arms, leveling a stare at me. "Just be glad I'm even taking you to shop in first place."

I winced. Okay, that was harsh. Then again, my own actions weren't entirely reasonable either.

We continued on, occasionally stopping to argue over random things - such as, what was the best colour in the world (clearly, I pointed out, she was biased, as she was like, 95% blue. "So are you," Alice argued, gesturing to my hair), the cutest animals (Okay, not much arguing on this one: we both agreed bunnies were the cutest animals, although I did add that hamsters were an honorable mention), and sometimes talked about politics back home (Alice was extremely outdated, and came from the middle twentieth century, which meant most technological innovations still didn't exist yet, so I pulled out my phone and showed her. She nearly had a heart attack.)

"They let a _female_ campaign for president in America?" Alice gaped at me. "And no one opposed?"

I winced. Well, Hillary Clinton had done her best, but in the end Trump's campaign had still won. "Let's just say that having her in power would have been better than the opposition."

"Wow." She fell silent, looking stunned beyond belief. "I never thought I'd hear of the day where a woman would be able to rule an entire country."

"We've progressed a lot with minority rights - not just women, obviously, but gay, lesbian, etc - the whole LGBTQ spectrum, blacks, you know." (And we've regressed a bit with Trump being elected as president. I didn't mention that.)

Alice hummed thoughtfully. "Is England… different, now? I mean, we do come from different eras…"

"I haven't been to England personally, nor do I have much of an idea of how it used to be, but it definitely must have changed a lot."

The sky was a nice colour. I noted this absentmindedly as we continued forward, although I did take a few pictures on my phone of the Hearts Castle Domain (Alice _said_ it was the hearts castle domain, but who really knew). It was, after all, rather beautiful.

Not to mention the cherry blossoms that drifted to the ground, which was kind of ridiculous, because I didn't know Wonderland even _had_ cherry blossoms. Or, they might be a different species of cherry blossoms - in that case, did that mean that _every_ plant here is a different species, or are only some of them different? How would that even work?

Ugh… Complicated issues…

No. It was bad to think too much about this sort of stuff.

"We're here!" Alice grabbed my arm and we stopped, right in front of a huge red shop. Fading gold letters spelled out in cursive ' _The Red Boutique_ ', and decorating the edges of the sign were cherry blossoms. Several models were placed at the front, displaying colourful dresses.

Somewhere in the shop, a bell tinkled when we opened the door, before a blast of warm air hit me in the face. Not that it was cold outside, but damn, it was burning inside. They must have had their heating turned up to, like, 40˚ C.

"Hello~!" A faceless chirped, appearing by our side (I jumped so high I almost touched the ceiling. _PEOPLE CAN'T JUST APPEAR OUT OF FUCKING NOWHERE._ I don't care what universe I'm in, but this shit doesn't happen.) "Welcome back, Miss Alice~! Ooh, who's this~?"

"Hi, Audrey," Alice smiled faintly. "I'm here to help Emma," (she pointed to me) "find some new clothes. She's a new foreigner."

Audrey took a look at me and her face paled. If she had eyes, she would probably be gaping at me.

 _Why_ is it that whenever they _look at me_ they turn so pale? What did I do?

She recovered quickly, though, and nodded, grabbing my arm. "It's nice to meet you, Emma~! Come and browse, see what you like~."

I glanced over at Alice, mouthing, _Is this safe?_ (You never knew if this was actually a kidnap scenario.)

Alice rolled her eyes. _You'll be fine_.

To be honest, I was surprised she could understand me, and I could understand her. Most people don't really read lips.

…Maybe she's a ninja…?

(You know you're going insane when you begin to think stuff like that. Bad brain.)

Audrey led me to a section of the store near the back, and pulled out several racks of clothes, murmuring, "This is the women's section, take your time~. I'll go help Miss Alice right now…" She hurried off to where Alice stood patiently by the counter.

…Okay, then…

I browsed around the racks, pulling out several pairs of jeans and occasionally a ripped pair of jeans, the grabbed some black leggings and track pants. Sweats, yes… And a pair of white and pink striped stockings on one leg, and a zig-zag pattern on the other leg. Nice.

Then came the tops. This was a little trickier. I grabbed a plain white blouse, then found a pale pink crop top with the words ' _Dear Diary_ ' written on in black. Several long-sleeved shirts with emojis embroidered at the hem, and then a few tank pink tank tops for summer, and the pink shirt that started from the shoulders and was decorated with lace around the top.

I left my rack to go browse another, when something caught my eye. I turned around.

 _Ohh, nice._

Smirking, I pulled out a few pink dresses, with a small skirt and short sleeves. Hey, call me girly, but I loved pink dresses.

Hmm, this was enough. Loaded with clothes, I staggered to the check-out counter, and dropped my purchases.

Alice stared at me, then at the mountain of clothes, then looked back at me, and finally at the clothes. Her mouth dropped.

"I said buy clothes, not a whole closet!"

"Hey, this isn't even half of my closet back home!" I argued, waving my hands at my clothes. "Besides, I need enough clothes to survive - how do I know how long I'm going to stay here?"

"Fine," Alice huffed, crossing her arms and taking out her wallet, "just be glad I'm even buying you this much."

I beamed. Alice was the nicest girl ever. Note to self: Find a way to repay her.

Audrey appeared behind the counter (by now, I'm really sure that she's a ninja or something, because normal people don't do that.), and trilled, "Sorry for keeping you guys~! Is this all~?"

"Yes," Alice answered, pulling out a few sheets of money. "Thank you for your help, Audrey."

"Of course~! Come anytime~!" Audrey handed back the change, then pulled out three bags and carefully placed the clothes in.

"Bye!" I called over my shoulder as I followed Alice out the door, now carrying two bags and Alice helping with the other.

xXx

After the outsiders left, someone else entered the shop. The bell tinkled, signalling his entrance, and Audrey hurried to greet the customer.

"Hello~! Welcome to Red Boutique~! What do you need - oh, it's you~. What do you want~?" She tried to quell the tremble of fear in her voice as she recognized the 'customer'.

"Where is it?" The deep rumble of a voice came from the other, a cold and menacing.

"I - I don't know what you mean~," the shopkeeper tried, swallowing nervously. She knew she shouldn't have given it away, but what this man was planning could endanger all of Wonderland. Despite Audrey's hatred of the Roleholders, harming Alice was something she wouldn't stand for.

"You're lying."

Audrey flinched. "I - I'm not~, I promise, I don't know what you're talking about - _Ahhh_ -"

The rest of her sentence was cut short and she slumped to the ground, red blossoming from her chest. A minute later, her body shimmered and was replaced by a clock.

Standing above her body, the attacker released his gun and continued his way through the shop.

xXx

The town was pretty nice.

Faceless bustled about, carrying various bags full of clothing, food, and other stuff. Various stalls were lined up around the street, selling clothes, trinkets, and food. One stall owner offered me an apple, but Alice pushed me onwards, saying, "We don't have time to shop _now_."

Benches were placed strategically around cherry blossom trees, and several couples were under them, enjoying the beautiful day. Some held picnic baskets (Dammit, I wanted to do that too…), others were taking pictures.

"Where are we going?" I asked Alice, who hadn't yet responded to any of my questions. After leaving the Red Boutique, she'd pulled me along and insisted that I follow her.

…She's probably trying to kidnap me, right?

Nah, Alice wouldn't do that.

Unless she's the type that _seemed_ innocent but really wasn't.

In that case, I should probably start running.

…No, Alice wouldn't do that…

"We're going to Hearts Castle, since we're already in their domain, I figured we should pay a visit to them." Alice continued onwards, not sparing me a look.

What roleholders resided in Hearts Castle…? Gowland told me some of them, but I forgot most of their names…

Well, seeing as this dream seemed to be based off _Alice in Wonderland,_ probably the queen of hearts and the white rabbit. Oh, and Ace, from what Alice said earlier.

If the white rabbit was a roleholder, then was he (or she) an actual rabbit…? How would that work…?

Meh. This was Wonderland, no use questioning it's (admittedly questionable) ways.

"Hey, who are the Roleholders living there?" I wondered aloud.

Alice tilted her head thoughtfully, strands of brown hair falling into her face. "Well, there's Vivaldi, the Queen of Hearts. She's a nice enough person when you meet her, but, uh, she likes beheading people, so be careful. Also, she likes the colour red."

 _Red._ The word sent a jolt through my body. When I was younger, my favourite colour was red, but it quickly grew to become pink. Still, I had a certain degree of… fondness for the slightly-darker shade of red.

"So, Vivaldi, Ace, and who else?" I pressed the issue. Alice bristled, her face growing dark with righteous indignation. Ahh, so someone she doesn't like.

"Peter White, the castle's Prime Minister. He's the White Rabbit, and he's kind of… Urgh…" Alice waved her hands irritatedly, scowling. "He says he loves me, but, he's too…" Again, she seemed to be at a loss with words and settled on using an array of interesting hand gestures, some of which included _boom_ and _ka-pow_ as sound effects.

Interesting. I didn't know Alice was that expressive about Peter.

I waited for her to elaborate, or at least translate her hand gestures, because, alas, I do not know sign language (although I wish I did).

She didn't speak anymore, leaving me to admire the flowers in silence. (Everytime I think of silence, I think of _Silence will fall_. Doctor Who is incredibly addictive. Sue me.)

I glanced up, and gaped at the sight looming above me.

Have you seen a castle before? Picture that, but ten times bigger.

Then picture it _completely_ red. Like, _everything is fucking red_.

Now imagine a beautiful garden of roses bordering it (actually, it looked more like a maze made out of rose hedges. Seriously, what the fuck?), red hearts on top of towers (not real hearts, duh), and a shitload of soldiers guarding the double doors, which were, coincidentally, red.

Hmm, I wonder why it's called Hearts Castle? (That was sarcasm. In case you didn't realize.)

"I think we're here," I offered helpfully. Just in case Alice didn't notice.

"Yes." Alice's released my hand and brushed her apron off, and then glanced over at me and gave me a smile. "I used to live in this territory…" Nostalgia flashed through her eyes, but she quickly shook it off.

"Where do you live now, then?" I wondered, noting how she said 'used to'. So she moved homes? Where? Wait…

Where would _I_ even live? The castle, maybe? Um, I don't think so… Ace seemed pretty insane. So far, the Amusement Park is a no… Maybe the Circus, but it'd be rude to impose on Joker for too long, even if he was a friend. Either Hatter Mansion or Clover Tower…

Why was I thinking about this again?

"When I first came to this world, I was dragged by Peter -" Alice's fists clenched, "- and I fell into the Clock Tower Domain ( _Julius' domain_ , I mentally filed off in my head), and the first place I went to after he explained Wonderland to me was the Castle. To punch Peter in the face." She sounded strangely triumphant about that, which made me a little more cautious around her. "And… well, afterwards, Vivaldi let me stay here."

"Even though you punched the PM in the face." I wrinkled my nose. That was fucked up logic, but then again, I lived in a fucked up world. "I'm surprised."

Alice laughed. "I was nervous at first, too, but they still let me." She glanced around, then pulled me through an opening in the shrubbery. "Come on, we're almost there."


	12. AUTHOR'S NOTE: IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ!

**Hello, welcome back to** _ **Now You See Me, Now You Don't...**_ **I'm really sorry that I've left this hanging for so long! To those who were hoping for a review... I'm sorry... TT_TT but, i do have some news!**

 **I have decided to rewrite this story, and it will be published under my account soon! You can still go read that if you want, and I will leave this one, the original, up. I decided, even after already having written the next chapter of the story, that the way I wrote the story was rushed and unrealistic, and I was cringing too much. Despite that, I don't want to give up on this story… I really had a lot planned for this, and I was really excited to write this, so I hope I can at least keep writing it! There will be slight changes to the story and the main character, as you might notice, and the hints are a little less obvious, thank god. I made her interactions seem much more plausible. Also no more mood swings, and Emma isn't a total troll and little shit this time.**

 **There will be some swearing, and a little bit of graphic descriptions of character injuries, which is why it's rated M. There will most likely be no smut, or lemons, in this story. As for romance, I have paired Blood and Alice together; for my OC there** _ **is**_ **a pairing in mind, but I might decide to take it out if I decide it takes away from the plot. You might be able to guess the pairing, though. :)**

 **A little bit of a warning; I really really like to make action stories with a lot of hurt/comfort or angst, so you'll see that here. I set it during a strange time, after Alice has adjusted to Wonderland, and is comfortably settled, and during the third April season since she fell into Heart, so she's a lot calmer. However, there is a lot more turmoil and internal conflict within the Faceless, so there's that.**

 **Also, keep in mind that the reason the Faceless are so strong this time, despite mostly being pretty weak in the main manga series and the games, is because of some outside influence… from XXX XXXXX, who's a new character and a new Roleholder in this game, though they won't show up much here… they might if I decide to write out the sequels (I have everything planned, though I might end it here…). I have taken some liberties with Wonderland, it's rules, and it's Roleholders, so please try to read everything with an open mind!**

 **That said, sorry for the lack of update! The new version will be up shortly! Just to keep you excited, here's a preview of the first chapter!:**

* * *

Fire, red hot flames, crept down her hair, igniting the pink strands, frying away the delicate, silky strands into incomprehensibly black ashes. It reached her shoulder, and flitted to the pink yarn of her dress, and caught burned, eating away at the beautiful fabric.

She stood still, on fire, in the surprisingly intact clearing, staring vacantly ahead at the mansion that loomed above her. Dark pillars of smoke rose from the mansion, and screams of terror could be vaguely heard amongst the chaos of the scene. Dozens of faceless citizens ran away, screaming, only to be mowed down by machine guns and the flashing of blades as the mafia continued to advance.

The house shuddered, then began to moan as the wood buckled in on itself and the house began to crash to the ground. Wooden beams fell from the roof and she watched as it caught a faceless in the leg, who stumbled and lay still.

 _It was a massacre. Her people were_ dying _._

The flames consumed her figure, eating away at her limbs, her flesh blistered and peeled away from her bones. She was sure she made a grotesque figure, decorated by fire, and blood running freely down her limbs, but she wasn't sure what was greater; the pain in her heart or the pain of the fire killing her.

A laugh bubbled up in her throat and she choked on blood, gurgling a bit. Red fountained from her lips, dribbling down her chin in single, pristine, dots.

She threw her head back and laughed hysterically.

-:-

I jolted awake, chest heaving, breaths coming out rapidly, and swallowed.

Sweat stained my covers, and caused my shirt to stick to my chest. Relaxing against my pillows, I took a moment to just breathe, inhaling and exhaling, and waited for my tremors to subside. Eventually, for god knew how long, as I sat on my bed, the terror drained away and left weariness in its wake.

It was still dark out, and the streetlight filtered in through my window, casting long shadows against the carpeted floor. The digital clock to my left informed me that it was four fifteen in the morning, and I gently took a step out of bed, shivering as the cold air hit me. My pajamas were sticky with sweat; I grimaced as I peeled it off, relishing in the bit of freedom it gave me.

I tossed it into the laundry basket, then stripped the bed of its covers, too tired to properly change it right now. I would do it later on, in the morning, when I was more aware, but for now I left it bundled in a heap on the carpet and jumped back into bed.

It was harder to fall asleep, no matter how exhausted I was. Everytime I closed my eyes, I could only see the flames, flickering against the silent backdrop of the beautiful mansion collapsing, and the terrified screams of the people. The bullets whizzing through the air, the silence shattered by the roar of machine guns, and the streets died with crimson…

 _Stop it. Don't think about it. It's only a dream_.

Eventually, I managed to drift off into sleep, and relished in the lack of dreams.


End file.
